Hermione's Blonde Secrets
by shesmyfavorite
Summary: DMHG The Gryffindor Princess has a dark secret that can no longer be kept in the dark. Can our favorite Slytherin rebel be the father he never knew? Read and find out! COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: A Smoky Future

Hermione Granger clutched her stomach in revulsion and panic. She swallowed heavily, trying desperately to appease the bile that was climbing steadily up her throat. Swatting the smoky letters, which hung in the air like wispy clouds, Hermione's mind raced.

_This isn't happening to me. It's wrong. It has to be wrong. There is no humanly feasible way that…_

Hermione's stomach lurched. What was she thinking? Of course it was feasible- more than feasible- _expected. _ Hermione stared once more at the now unrecognizable letters floating lazily above her head. Maybe if she tried the spell again, maybe she did it wrong the first three times, maybe she wasn't really…

"_Praegnans ou vaco_!" Hermione whispered hoarsely, pointing her wand at her flat stomach. She closed her eyes, praying, wishing, begging for it all to be a mistake. Hermione knew deep down that she had done the spell correctly the first three times. Opening her eyes, slowly, sadly, Hermione gazed at the wispy letters in front of her.

_Praegnans_

She knew it was pointless to try and fool herself any longer. What she could not comprehend was why it had to happen right now. The day of her graduation from Hogwarts; the day she was planning on leaving everything behind her, letting bygones be bygones and letting mistakes slide away from her like bad dreams.

It was not to be. Hermione rubbed her stomach nervously as she felt hot tears glide down her cheeks.

"I'm going to take care of us, baby…" she whispered to her belly. "It's going to be just you and me, but I promise to love you enough for two people combined…"

Hermione had managed to make it outside for the graduation ceremonies mere minutes before commencement. Harry and Ron spotted her walking and called her over, their faces a mixture of pride and fear. This was the day they had all been working towards, but at the same time no one felt an overwhelming drive to leave their beloved school. The three of them had made a pact the summer before their seventh and final year at Hogwarts that they would finish school and then search out Voldemort- together. The three of them held a bond that was so powerful it felt tangible at times. Hermione didn't know how to tell them that she was breaking their pact and sending them off to fight the most dangerous and evil wizard mankind had ever known by themselves. She fought desperately with the little voice in the back of her mind that told her this might be the last time she would ever see the two of them again. She knew she couldn't go- for the sake of her unborn child.

_ I owe it to my child. What kind of mother would I be if I put my life in danger knowing I'm carrying another life inside of me? There is no other way._

Hermione had been battling with herself over and over again for the past two hours. In the end, she knew she could not go. The one thing she did notknow was how to tell Harry and Ron without _really _telling them.

"Hermione! We saved you a seat!" Ron waved at her, smiling broadly. His hair was a mop of disheveled red that fell into his face. He had grown up a lot, getting a little taller than six feet and building some muscle mass. Hermione tried her luck at a happy smile, but failed miserably. Harry could sense it before she even attempted to smile.

"What's the matter? Something has happened hasn't it?" Harry stood up as she approached, and grabbed her hands comfortingly. Hermione was able to see the constant battle of controlled panic in his eyes when she was close to him.

"You're not coming with us…" Ron mumbled slowly, staring at her with a crushed look on his face. Hermione shook her head, tears falling freely.

"What has happened? Are you okay?" Harry gently wiped the tears off her cheeks and looked in her eyes. "We're your best friends, you know you can tell us anything…" Harry reassured her.

"She's not going to tell us, mate," Ron's face looked dark. "She would have done it already." Ron put his arms around her in a hug. "I hope everything is alright, 'Mione." He whispered. Hermione sobbed onto his shoulder as she threw her arms around his neck. She was so grateful to her friends; they knew not to ask any questions at a time like this. The boys knew her well enough to realize she would tell them everything when she was ready.

"I can't…"Hermione pulled away from Ron and looked at her two best friends with sorrow.

"Can't what?" Harry asked. His black hair still stood untidy on his head. He too had grown a lot in the past year, but had not managed to sprout as tall as Ron. Quidditch had conditioned his muscles similar to Ron's, so that he was toned but not overly bulging.

"I can't come with you and I can't tell you why," Hermione looked ashamed down at the ground. There was an uncomfortable silence between the three friends. Harry broke the silence by grabbing her into a bear hug.

"Take care of yourself, 'Mione. We would be there watching over you if we could. Promise to stay safe?" Harry asked, his voice sounded strained.

"Promise," Hermione choked. "You two do the same. Write me as often as you can, _please. _You know how I'll worry…" Harry let her out of the bear hug and nodded. Ron pulled her close to him for a gentle hug.

"You're like family, 'Mione. We'll always love you." Ron squeezed her one last time before pulling away.

After the ceremony, there was a bittersweet farewell from everyone. Teachers, students, and parents all stood around hugging, laughing, reminiscing, and crying. Hermione did not feel up to the current situation, having already said goodbye to two of the most important people in her life. She had wanted a chance to say one other goodbye, but knew she couldn't. Like a dark shadow, Hermione slipped away from the crowds so that she was out of Hogwart's property and apparated quietly to her flat. What Hermione had forgotten was that the one other person she had wanted to say goodbye to had also wanted to see her. He had wanted to see her so much that he had followed her down outside of the Hogwart's gates, and watched her apparate away before getting the chance to say anything.

"Fuck…" he cursed, angrily brushing a stray lock of blonde hair out of his eyes and staring at the spot where she had disappeared.

A/N: Sorry such a short chapter, but I wanted to get a feel for what you guys were thinking about it and I figured it was the best place for now to stop. Another update coming soon hopefully! Please review! Oh, by the way, I don't own anything Harry Potter (damn!) ;-)

-shesmyfavorite


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Once Hermione had apparated to her flat, she had no further plan of action. Feelings of relief, regret, and anxiety overwhelmed her for a few seconds before everything started truly sinking in. There was so much that needed to be done, and such a short time to do it all in. She never once thought she would be in this position in her entire life. Like many other girls, Hermione had expected to have a loving husband, a steady job, and life to be going perfect before she even thought of having her first child.

Before Hermione could actually do anything, her cell phone began ringing. She cursed silently when she saw the caller ID: Ginny. Hermione allowed herself a few seconds of indecisiveness before she flipped open her cell.

"Hello?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Hey! Where did you go? Everybody's been wondering what happened to you…" Ginny's warm voice calmed Hermione.

"Oh…erm… well, I wasn't feeling well…" Hermione lied. She could tell Ginny didn't buy her fib for a nanosecond.

"I think you're lying, Hermione…" Ginny's voice became sharp suddenly and Hermione had a distinct memory of Mrs. Weasley. "I'm coming over-" Before Hermione could protest, Ginny had hung up.

A few minutes passed before Hermione heard the familiar sound of her fireplace roaring with floo travel. Ginny stood in Hermione's living room looking smudged, concerned and slightly agitated.

"What's going on, Hermione?" Ginny demanded. Hermione glanced sorrowfully at her best friend and began sobbing without warning. Ginny, completely bewildered, rushed over and embraced Hermione in a hug. "Shh… it's okay, 'Mione. I'm sure whatever has happened will be okay…" Ginny lulled, patting Hermione's hair softly.

"No, Ginny! It won't be okay… " Hermione wailed onto Ginny's shoulder.

"Tell me what has happened! I'm sure there is a solution, I'll help you- I promise." Ginny pulled away and looked Hermione in the eyes. "I promise."

Hermione took a deep breath. "You can't tell anyone…" she whispered, wiping tears off her face.

"You know me better than that," Ginny smiled cautiously.

"I mean it…" Hermione trailed off, giving her friend a stern look. Ginny nodded in agreement. "Ginny… I… I'm… pregnant…" Hermione's voice was barely audible, but Ginny heard her anyway.

"What?" Ginny cried, her eyes wide. "Oh my god, Hermione, from _who?_" Hermione shook her head, making it clear she did not want to delve into details.

"But I've made my decision," Hermione sat up straight. "I'm raising the baby myself. I can do it alone…I think."

"What do you mean _alone?_" Ginny questioned. "You mean to tell me you're not going to tell the father that he created a child with you? _Ever?_"

"Never." Hermione looked defiant.

"Do your parents…?" Ginny trailed off.

"NO. They don't need to know yet. It's not the right time…" Hermione looked as though she might start crying again. "You've met my parents, Gin. How do _you_ think they'd react to hearing their only daughter got knocked up at eighteen?" Hermione sounded bitter at the last part. Ginny faltered.

"So, maybe they won't be thrilled at first, but you know they will want to be a part of their daughter's and _grandchild's_ life!" Ginny smiled reassuringly. Hermione looked nervously over at her cell phone lying on the couch before shaking her head.

"No. I can't do it yet. It has to feel right first." Hermione sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do, Gin."

"Well, one thing for sure is that I'm staying with you this summer. You need me right now and you know it- what with all this mess _plus_ Harry and Ron leaving." Ginny crossed her arms over her chest childishly. "And I really need you, with the guys being gone and everything…" Ginny mumbled. Hermione looked apprehensive.

"I don't know, Ginny… how will your mum feel about this?" Hermione questioned skeptically.

"Doesn't matter," Ginny flounced back over to the fireplace and scooped up a handful of floo powder from a bowl on the mantle, "I'm of age now. I'll just run home and grab a few things…" Ginny chunked her floo powder into the fireplace and cried out "The Burrow!" before jumping in. And then she was gone.

Hermione felt a little better knowing that Ginny would be there to help her with all the changes coming her way. The world seemed a little less scary, and Hermione toyed with the idea of trying to get in touch with the child's father. Quickly Hermione shook that idea out of her mind as she walked into the kitchen to start dinner.

Two weeks later, Hermione and Ginny were about to go shopping downtown when a large snowy owl began pecking at the kitchen window.

"Hedwig!" Hermione cried in delight. "Ginny, it's Hedwig!" The two girls leapt up and raced to let the owl inside. Once the window was unlatched, Hedwig floated in and landed on Hermione's shoulder while sticking out its leg; a small note was attached. Hermione pulled the note off of Hedwig's skinny leg, filled up a water bowl, and tossed some owl treats on the kitchen counter. Ginny had grabbed the note and was reading it aloud.

_Dear 'Mione, _

_Ron and I are safe- for now. We have met up with some of our fellow colleagues from the London estate and are quickly getting closer to our ultimate goal. Please write back quickly. _

_Love, _

_Harry _

Ginny finished reading the letter and glanced up at Hermione looking troubled.

"Do you think that means that some of the Order is with them?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"It seems possible. I'm relieved to know they're not alone…" Hermione felt a twang of guilt. "I wonder if they have found all the Horcruxes?" Ginny merely shrugged, but looked slightly paler.

"I vote we go on with our shopping and hope for the best. You can write them when we get back?" Ginny suggested.

"That sounds good. It will be nice to get my mind off things." Hermione agreed.

Because Hermione was only about eight weeks pregnant, the tiny bump that had started rounded out her stomach was hardly noticeable at all. She made sure to stay away from form fitting clothing, and wore more loose attire. Overall, Hermione had seemed to succumb to a level of beauty she had never seen in herself before her pregnancy. She seemed to give off a sort of glowing aura to whoever was around her. As Ginny and Hermione continued their shopping in downtown London, many men cast Hermione suggestive glances. Ginny took notice of this new attention as well.

"'Mione, you're a regular vixen these days!" Ginny laughed. Hermione smiled, blushing.

"I haven't done anything different. I must be having a really good hair day or something." The two girls enjoyed being out together and made some new purchases before heading back home.

Despite their excitement at being out, the girls missed one big thing in London. One thing that would have changed Hermione's life if she had noticed. Once again, Draco Malfoy had watched as Hermione walked away from him, not even acknowledging him. Draco stared at her as she walked-no-_glided_ down the street with the bouncy redheaded girl. He wanted to walk up to her, grab her and spin her around until he could make her laugh like he used to be able to. Something inside Draco's chest began to swell as he reminisced on their past year as Head Boy and Girl. So many memories, so many good things had happened. So many _mistakes._ Draco, so quick to anger these days, punched the wooden door he stood by, causing a sickening crack and the door to split partially.

_Next time. _Draco thought to himself. _Next time she won't go anywhere but back to my house and be with me. She has to listen- there is so much to explain. If only she would have given me the chance to explain what happened…_

Draco touched his now bleeding fist. Before walking off, he turned sharply and punched the door one last time, causing it to unhinge from the frame.

_There has got to be a better way to get my anger out. I should start flying again- that always helps…_

The next couple of weeks passed without any major hazards. July was just as warm as June, and Hermione began to get nervous remembering that Ginny was going to be heading back to school pretty soon. She had gotten very used to having the bubbly redhead around and was secretly not sure how she was going to manage by herself. She still had not told her parents, or anyone other than Ginny for that matter. The two girls had just gotten up and were eating breakfast when a barn owl that brought the _Daily_ _Prophet_ began pecking on the kitchen window. Hermione got up and opened the window so that the owl could deliver the paper properly. Ginny handed Hermione a knut to pay the owl, and it soared off at once. Hermione opened the paper and gasped.

_MALFOY NAMED NEW SEEKER FOR PUDDLEMERE UNITED TEAM!_

The paper's headlining article was about Draco! Hermione skimmed the article quickly, while Ginny attempted to snatch it out of her hands.

"What! What is it, Hermione? Is everything okay?" Ginny exclaimed, bouncing up and down fretfully. Finally, Ginny was able to grab the paper from Hermione and read the first page. "So Malfoy's the new seeker, who cares?" Ginny tossed the paper aside. She looked up at Hermione, who's eyes had begun to water. "'Mione? What's wrong?"

"When did it say the first match was, Gin?" Hermione asked in a whisper. Ginny grabbed the paper off the counter and read silently for a few seconds.

"July 31st," Ginny said slowly, "Harry's 19th birthday…" Hermione nodded.

"I think I want to go, Ginny…" Hermione said. Ginny looked at her suspiciously.

"When are you going to tell me who the father is, 'Mione?" Ginny questioned. Hermione looked up at her suddenly.

_Does she know?_

"Not know, Gin. I really don't want to fight about it…" Hermione looked sad.

July 31st came quickly, and Hermione was frantically trying to decide on an outfit to wear that wouldn't look like she was trying too hard.

_Not that he'll even notice me in the big crowd…_

She finally decided upon a white fluttery, knee length, cotton skirt, pale pink tank top, and white open-toe sandals. She applied golden brown eye shadow and liner to her eyes and a light lip-gloss with some pinkish red in it. Her hair was down, and she straightened it so that it fell sleek and shimmering to the middle of her back.

"Are you ready, Gin?" Hermione called as she observed herself in a full-length mirror. Her bump was definitely noticeable, but not very big yet. Ginny called out that she was ready, and the girls went downstairs to drive to the match.

Thousands of people were already at the Quidditch game, and Hermione was very sure she would run into people she knew.

_ I can't hide it forever. It mine as well get out in the open now._

Just before Ginny and Hermione were going to walk up into the stands, someone grabbed Ginny's hand and she whirled around to see a friend from Hogwarts. Ginny promised she would meet Hermione up in the stands, and went flouncing off with her friend. Hermione turned to make her way back up into the stands until something caught her eye. Someone was staring at her.

Draco could not help himself. She looked gorgeous- white was definitely her color. But then, he noticed a small bump on her stomach… and his whole world came crashing down all around him.

A/N: This chapter is a little longer than the other one- YAY! Thanks SOOO SOOO much to all the people who reviewed! You made me so happy and excited and I can't wait to write more for the story! Please continue to review! Oh and also, I heard a new song yesterday that is really great, so if you want to go download it (heehee) its called "Lightning Blue Eyes" by The Secret Machines. By the way, the next couple of chapters are going to get a lot more interesting, so don't give up quite yet if you're unsure about the story- I promise its getting better- I just had to have this chapter in for a few events to happen… Okay! Have a great day and please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Rebel at his Best 

Hermione's breath caught painfully in her chest. She had wanted to see him, which is why she had dressed nice, but now that it was happening she didn't know what to do. He wouldn't stop staring at her! Hermione decided she needed to say something. She cleared her throat and fiddled with her hair nervously.

"Hi, Draco…" she started nervously. His eyes moved from her stomach back up to her face, where she clearly saw he looked frighteningly livid. He marched over to her quickly.

"Do you know what you put me through after that night?" Draco's voice was barely a whisper but it cut through Hermione like he had been shouting.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Hermione faltered.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Draco's voice had risen to yell. "Did you do this to get back at me? To fucking rub it in my face?" People around them were stopping to watch. Hermione was so taken off guard she couldn't even respond. This was not how she had pictured this going.

"Draco-no! Oh my god… no…" Hermione remembered the night like it had just happened yesterday.

They had been nominated as Head Boy and Girl, which meant they would be sharing a common room and bathroom, but have private suites. The year had started out miserably, but a few months into things, they realized some attraction had developed. Things panned out over the course of the year, resulting in a very intimate and secretive relationship that they kept even from their best friends. One month before graduation, Hermione had walked into a naked Pansy Parkinson and half-naked Draco in their common room. When Hermione walked in Pansy was on top of Draco, trying to unzip his jeans and had already managed to tear his shirt off. She was kissing him furiously, and by the looks of it Draco hadn't been resisting too hard. She was a barely 120 pound girl, and he was a good 185 pounds with a lot of strength and a lot of muscles from Quidditch. In Hermione's mind, there was absolutely no good reason under the sun why this would have happened innocently. Especially considering Draco and Pansy's history together; they had been dating since fourth year and broke up at the end of the sixth year.

After that night, Hermione had given Draco nothing but a living hell. She never spoke to him, avoided him at all costs, and never gave him the opportunity to explain anything that happened. She had been cheated on before, and knew it was going to be a big lie to try and cover things up. The secret breakup had affected Draco greatly. He just wanted to explain to Hermione what had really been going on, but she would have none of it. The relationship he had with Hermione was the most serious one in his life, and he had already picked out a ring. Draco spent the last month of school in controlled chaos.

Draco heard what she had said, but turned his back to her.

_How could she just play it off like nothing had ever happened?_ Draco thought furiously with himself. _She's just going to waltz back into my life after avoiding me for months, and pretend like all is forgotten?_

Hermione wanted to cry, but didn't want to show any signs of weakness around him. He had crushed her; he had absolutely-positively-no-doubts-about-it demolished every ounce of trust she had to give. She watched Draco walk away into the team changing room, and wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. Run after him? Go home? Make a scene right here? None of the options seemed like something she should do.

Hermione took a deep breath and walked up into the stands. She decided to wait for Ginny to join her and then go home. Only, Ginny didn't show up until half of the game had already passed. In the meantime, Draco was playing fabulous. Hermione found it slightly arousing to see the father of her child flying around, dodging bludgers and playing really rough. She wished suddenly that she had just given him a few minutes back at Hogwarts to explain everything. Maybe things weren't as they seemed? She wondered if her life would be considerably different now if Draco were a constant part of her life.

_Would we be married? Picking out baby names, clothes, and colors to paint the room? Maybe we would be in the market for our own house?_

Hermione felt sick to her stomach. She knew that she needed to talk to Draco again. She couldn't let things end this way. They used to be so happy, so perfect. He always knew exactly what to do to make her smile or laugh when she was sad or stressed out. He always knew the perfect time to tell her that he loved her. He always knew when she needed a hug or kiss. She never expected the Slytherin bad ass to be such a great boyfriend.

"Hey 'Mione! Sorry I was gone for so long…" Ginny was waving and making her way through the crowded stands over to Hermione. "Great match, isn't it?" Ginny asked once seated.

"Yeah, it's been really exciting," Hermione smiled. _Draco had been really exciting to watch at least. _

"So have you seen anyone you know yet?" Ginny stood up quickly and screamed in excitement as Puddlemere United scored again. The score was now tied at 70-70. When Ginny sat back down she seemed to have forgotten she had asked Hermione a question, so Hermione pretended like she hadn't heard it.

The crowd gasped audibly as Draco and the seeker from the other team both went zooming off towards the ground at the same exact time. They were racing each other to grab the snitch, and the crowd was going wild. Hermione and Ginny stood up on their seats to get a better view of the Seekers. The two men seemed to be flying down and punching each other at the same time. As they were coming in dangerously close to the ground, Draco released a strong uppercut to the other Seeker's face, which caused him to veer off course slightly. Draco grabbed the snitch and punched his fist high in the air in triumph. The crowd let out a deafening cheer and the match was over. Hermione and Ginny got caught up in the action and started jumping up and down screaming and hugging each other. Hermione suddenly had the thought that Draco was going to be walking back to the changing rooms so she hurried off by herself, leaving Ginny hugging a complete stranger and still screaming in excitement.

Hermione reached the changing rooms just as the team started making their way to it, holding Draco on their shoulders and cheering for him. Most of the team ignored Hermione until Draco made them put him down and saw his face had changed from happiness to anger.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled at her. "Are you trying to ruin every happy moment in my life now, too?"

"Draco, we really need to talk- somewhere private…" Hermione started.

"Right, because now you suddenly want to give me the time of day." Draco looked furious.

"It has nothing to do with _that_!" Hermione cried. She reached out to grab his arm and drag him somewhere, but he maneuvered out of the way.

"Just as feisty as I remember, Granger…" Draco drawled, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm serious!" Hermione began to yell. "We need to talk alone!" Draco glared at her.

"Frustrating isn't it?" Draco's asked coolly.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"Trying to talk to someone when they will have nothing to do with you… not even _one second of your time._" Draco voice was like a razor. Hermione suddenly understood why he was acting this way.

"Don't pretend like you didn't deserve everything you got!" Hermione cried out, her eyes beginning to sting. "You're the one who fucked up, Draco!"

"I didn't do _anything!_ If you had given me a few moments out of your time, you would have found out! Besides- I'm not the one who got knocked up practically right after ending my relationship!" Hermione looked stung. "Which one was it, 'Mione? Stupid little Potter the prick, or the dirty Weasel?" Draco's voice was deadly.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Malfoy." Hermione was upset enough to call him by his surname. "Besides, if I had tried to talk to you about what happened that night you wouldn't have told me anything I couldn't figure out from the scene of the crime…"

"You would have found out the truth!"

"The truth from the mouth of a Malfoy! That's real reliable-"

"Don't ever fucking compare me to my father, Hermione! You know I'm _nothing_ like him-"

"Prove it!" Hermione shrieked, tears spilling out of her eyes. Draco was silent and looked incredulously at her.

Draco's team by this point had crowded around them to hear what all the screaming was about, and someone let out a low whistle.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Draco spat, looking unnerved. Hermione's face was a brilliant shade of red, partially from humiliation, partially from anger.

"It means nothing!" Hermione whirled around and began walking away, tears still falling freely. Draco had half a mind to let her go, but the curiosity she had sparked in him from her last comment could not be subdued. Draco rushed after Hermione and grabbed her arm to pull her around to face him again.

"Explain yourself." He stated simply. Hermione looked him defiantly in the eyes.

"Let go of me…" Hermione spat.

"Are you trying to tell me that this…" Draco paused to look at her soft belly, " is mine? Ours?" his voice softened. Hermione glared at him.

"It is, apparently, no concern of yours one way or the other!" Hermione began walking away again. Draco did not follow her.

"At least have the decency to tell me if I'm going to be a fa-father!" Draco's voice cracked boyishly. Hermione came to a stop mid-stride.

"Just because you help create a life doesn't mean you're a father…" Hermione said quietly. "There is so much more to it." Draco looked at her for a few seconds in complete silence. Suddenly, his face burst into a huge grin and ran to embrace Hermione. He swung her around and lifted her up into the air before letting her crash down into his embrace.

"I'm going to be a dad!" Draco's voice cracked again. Hermione couldn't help but start crying again and let him hold her. She was suddenly overwhelmed with all the happy memories they had and how much she missed being loved by someone.

"We still need to talk and try to work things out…" Hermione wiped her eyes. Draco smirked at her.

"Anything…" he said breathlessly, "I'll do anything…"

Draco was pretty sure his little rendezvous with Hermione was going to be a headliner the next morning. He was slightly anxious at how his family was going to respond, seeing as how Hermione was not from a pureblood family line. He thoughts were soon annihilated when he and Hermione finally sat down to work things out.

"Okay… just- try and explain fast so I don't have time to get angry…" Hermione said.

"Alright, well, what happened was that Pansy had been failing Charms, like you know, and Professor Flitwick had asked me to start tutoring her twice a week as part of my additional Head Boy duties. I really didn't want to, because I knew it would cause problems or had the potential to cause problems. Pansy never really got over me, you see-" Draco started.

"Speed it up." Hermione stated, turning a light shade of pink. Draco was rapidly beginning to catch on to these mood swings and anger gages.

"Right, so, the first few lessons were normal, she seemed to be showing improvement, so I suggested that we stop meeting. She took it all wrong, and started throwing herself on me- she hexed off my shirt! That was my favorite shirt, and now it has big burn marks all over it! Then before I could react she had stripped and was on top of me, shoving her tongue down my throat. You walked in just as I was pushing her off me because everything had _just_ and I mean _just _happened!" Draco ran out of breath. Hermione glared at him with suspicion in her eyes.

"You know that lying to me isn't going to do you any good, right?" Hermione questioned.

"I'm not lying!" Draco protested, throwing his hands in the air as a sign of innocence. Hermione's face softened.

"Promise me. I will honestly believe you if you promise me."

"I promise." Draco stated. Hermione smiled at him for the first time in too long. She knew it was time.

"Are you ready to start all your new responsibilities as dad?" Hermione asked him.

"Absolutely."

"Great, we get to start by going to tell my parents you got me knocked up!" Hermione smiled brighter. Draco's face fell.

"They don't know!" he cried. '

"They will soon…"

The next day, Hermione woke up early and went out into the kitchen to start some coffee. She saw an owl approaching her window, so she opened it in advance so the owl could perch inside. Hermione recognized the owl at once as Hedwig and was excited to hear how things were going with Harry and Ron. As Hedwig flew in, Hermione noticed something unusual- the parchment appeared to be hastily tied to the owl's leg and slightly torn. Hermione untied the letter and began to read.

_Hermione-_

_Harry is missing- he's been gone since Tuesday, and no one knows where he is. Please let us know if you hear from him because we are so close to accomplishment, his absence has left us exposed and at a great disadvantage. Let us hope for the best, _

_-Ron_

A/N: My reviewers are the best ever! Thank you all so much for your kind words and encouragement! I'm trying really hard to respond to everyone personally, just to show how much I appreciate you taking time out to read and review! The next update should come soon, so tell your friends and please keeping reading and reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: SURPRISE! I POSTED EARLIER THAN I SAID! ENJOY! PLEASE REVIEW! Chapter Four: Meet the Granger's 

Draco sat in his house alone, thinking about everything that was happening in his life. He was Seeker for one of the best teams around, his girlfriend from Hogwarts who he hadn't spoken to for months told him she was pregnant. His mother would want to know that the Malfoy name would be carried on after all. After Lucius' death, his mother had been caught in a downward spiral from depression and drinking. Everyone had assumed that Draco would remain a bachelor because of his promiscuous reputation out of Hogwarts, so his mother would most likely be delighted to hear she had a little Malfoy heir to look forward to. Only- Hermione wasn't a pureblood.

_That may be potentially problematic._ Draco thought to himself. _Surely she will look past blood and realize that I love the girl and she's carrying my child. _

Draco snorted out loud. He knew his mother better than that; she was a nice woman, but just as much a stickler for good blood as his father was. Realizing the complexity of this situation, he needed advice from someone he knew he could trust- his best friend.

Blaise was smoking a cigarette when Draco apparated into his flat. He looked mildly surprised at first, but took a slow drag off his cigarette as he stared at Draco for a few seconds.

"What's goin' on?" Blaise asked casually, flicking his cigarette butt into the nearest potted plant. Draco didn't say anything for a couple more seconds. "Oh, so it's actually serious, huh?" Blaise looked mildly interested and grinned.

"Yeah…" Draco fidgeted nervously, not knowing where to begin. "It's just, I kind of… didn't tell you some stuff back when we were at school… and now I need your advice on it…" Blaise looked genuinely intrigued now.

"Go on…" he said slowly.

Draco told him everything, beginning at how he and Hermione started being secretive all the way up to how she told Draco she was pregnant and it was his child. Blaise didn't interrupt the entire time, but instead gaped at Draco with an expression of disbelief on his face. When Draco was finally finished explaining everything, Blaise stood up, looking moderately impressed.

"You kept all that secret? Since November?" Blaise cried. Draco nodded. "Holy shit. No wonder you were so stressed out. Bloody hell! You knocked up _Granger?_"

"I guess…" Draco sighed. "What the fuck am I supposed to do now, though?" Draco sounded very strained.

"Um, what?" Blaise asked him, sounding slightly agitated. "Don't tell me you're thinking about running away from this? Because I would fucking hunt you down like the little bitch you are and drag your sorry ass back into this mess! You gotta step up, mate!" Blaise started yelling. Draco was horrified.

"I was never going to run away from it! I just don't know what to do _now!_ I mean, do I marry the girl now? Is it bad for me to ask her that now that she's pregnant? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK TO DO! I thought you could help, but bloody hell! If I knew you were just going to fucking yell at me then I never would have bothered-" Draco got up to leave, looking thoroughly pissed off. Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Stop acting like a prat. You're not going anywhere." Blaise threw a beer at him, which Draco caught with one hand. "Now sit back down, you're getting your panties all in a twist."

After an hour or so Draco left Blaise's flat feeling slightly better about everything. Blaise was usually a pretty good guy to talk to, and Draco was relieved Blaise wasn't upset about not being told about Hermione and his relationship while at Hogwarts. Draco waved goodbye and apparated to Hermione's flat to check on her. Hermione had apparently already told Ginny about him being a soon-to-be dad, so he was almost immediately attacked with a huge hug from the small redhead. He hadn't been there more than a few minutes before someone began knocking loudly on the door. Ginny ran to answer it, and opened to door to a smiling Blaise.

"Sorry, man. You forgot your house keys…" Blaise walked quickly over and handed Draco his keys. "Hello-" he waved at Ginny and Hermione.

"Hey there…" Ginny smiled seductively at him. "Here, have a seat, you don't have to leave so quickly…" Ginny patted the seat next to her. Hermione looked very anxious.

"There's something you all need to know…" Hermione started, but looked warily over at Blaise and then to Draco.

"It's okay, 'Mione. You can trust him," Draco assured her. Hermione still looked nervous, but continued anyway.

"Hedwig flew in today…" Ginny let out a squeal of excitement and Hermione's eyes began to sting again. "Harry has been missing for over a week now…no one knows where he is…" Hermione started sobbing. Draco and Blaise exchanged unsure glances as Ginny and Hermione cried together.

"So, what exactly is he doing, then?" Draco rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Hermione sniffed loudly.

"Trying to find V-Voldemort! He's trying to kill him!" Ginny and Blaise winced at Voldemort's name.

The next hour was very awkward as Hermione tried to explain everything to Draco and Blaise, while Ginny sat quietly and stared at nothing in particular. After Hermione was finished talking, Blaise stood up suddenly.

"I want to help- I want to be in!" Blaise's deep voiced boomed in the small living room. Ginny gazed at him, still in shock from the news. "I want to join the Order. My mother was killed by You-Know-Who and I want to be there when he is killed!"

"It's too late to join Harry and Ron…" Ginny said quietly.

"What?" everyone said at the same time.

"He can join the Order, but it's too late to send him off to help with Harry and Ron…" Ginny practically whispered, tears beginning to fall again. Hermione scooted over to Ginny and hugged her warmly.

"Everything will be fine, Gin. We both know Harry has gotten himself out of all kinds of bad situations. He is strong and smart and knows what he needs to do. I'm sure he will be just fine…" Hermione seemed to be trying to convince herself rather than anyone else.

"What do we need to do?" Draco asked suddenly. Hermione and Ginny stared at him in confusion. "To join the Order-" Draco explained. Hermione gave him a watery smile and stood up to hug him.

"I can't believe you want to help, too…" she whispered into his strong chest.

"I'm not as evil as you might think…I learned a lot from my father's mistakes," Draco said quietly, wiping the tears off Hermione's face with his hands. Hermione smiled sadly up at him.

"I'm so glad you're finally here… I can't manage it all alone…" Hermione's voice sounded very tight as though she was trying desperately not to cry again. It was at the precise moment Draco saw how much she was hurting. He had never really thought about how hard everything was for her until that moment. Her eyes told all the truths- they looked sad, worried, stressed, and pained. Yet, she somehow managed to keep a smile despite everything.

"You're going to be such a great mum…" Draco said randomly. Hermione looked surprised at the statement, but grinned all the same.

"Thanks, Draco…" she said genuinely.

Draco leaned down towards her, unsure if she was going to be okay with their first kiss since early May. Hermione's eyes hesitated at first and she held her breath for a fraction of a second before deciding it was within acceptable limits and met his lips halfway. As soon as her lips touched his, her body felt electric and dizzy. His lips were so soft, so gentle, and so careful. Hermione opened her eyes mid kiss and saw Draco's eyes closed, an expression of relief and excitement on his face. She had been dreaming about this for months… the way he made her feel when he kissed her. The world completely stopped and a bright spotlight shone right upon them. Draco had only meant for it to be a quick, soft kiss, but it had evolved into something much more.

Ginny and Blaise stopped what they were doing to watch the kissing couple. Ginny still had tear streaks down her cheeks, but couldn't help but smile at their reunion. Hermione hadn't the chance to delve into details of her relationship with Draco, but it was evident they had each become more complete once in each other's arms again.

Hermione and Draco pulled away from each other, but still stared at each other's eyes.

"I've missed you… _so much-_" Draco whispered hoarsely, so only Hermione could hear. She smiled up at his gorgeous face. He had a strong jaw line, and perfect lips. His eyes no longer looked gray, but instead an icy blue. He was so perfect to her.

"I've missed you too…" Hermione's voice cracked and her eyes began to fill with tears again.

"Don't cry, 'Mione… I can't bear it…" Draco pulled her close to him and ran his fingers through her long hair. "Do you still want to go see your parents today? Maybe another day would be better…" Draco said. Hermione shook her head.

"No, I want to get it over with as soon as I can now that you're here. I'm not quite as scared." Hermione grabbed a hold of his hand, which was much larger than her own. He gave her a half smile.

"I'll stay here with Ginny," Blaise offered quickly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "You two go ahead… we'll be here when you get back…" Hermione looked up at Draco.

"No smoking inside, mate…" Draco said before Hermione could. Blaise nodded and walked out onto Hermione's balcony. Ginny followed him and waved sadly to Hermione.

"Ready, then?" she asked him nervously.

"As I'll ever be."

"Do you have your wand on you?" Hermione asked once they were outside her parent's home. Draco was shocked.

"'Mione I'm not going to attack your family…"

"For protection, Draco," Hermione said darkly, " I don't think you're understanding how serious this is bound to get. They know your family's reputation well, and I'm their only child." Draco shrugged and patted his pants pocket to show it was ready if needed. They walked hand in hand to the front door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed before a kind-looking woman answered the door.

"Hermione! Darling! Come in, come in!" the woman pulled Hermione into a huge hug and ushered both Draco and her inside. "Who is this young man?" Mrs. Granger smiled knowingly at him. Draco held out his hand.

"Draco Malfoy, it's a pleasure." Mrs. Granger's face fell and she looked panicked. She did not hold her hand out to receive his handshake.

"Mother, please, Draco and I are… well… we're together…" Hermione said anxiously. Mrs. Granger shot her daughter a deadly look.

"I'm going to get your father…" she muttered before turning her back to them and running up the stairs. After she had left, Draco looked at Hermione uncertainly.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" he asked. Hermione looked pale.

"I'm sure it will be… fine…" she sounded unconvinced.

Just then, Hermione's father came downstairs followed quickly by Mrs. Granger. He stopped suddenly once he laid eyes on Draco.

"You-" he pointed at Draco fiercely, " are not welcome in my home!" he made a movement to come closer, but Hermione stepped in front of Draco.

"Dad! Stop being ridiculous- Draco and I are a couple, and we came to talk to you both…" Hermione paused and looked at Draco for support.

"I know you have heard of my family, Mr. Granger. I assure you that I am not anything like my father and I have only the best intentions toward your daughter." Draco finished quickly. Mr. Granger continued to look furiously at him.

"You're lucky my daughter is here…" Mr. Granger spat.

"We need to talk to you…" Hermione started again.

"So talk!" Mr. Granger shouted. Hermione withered.

" I think it would be best if we all went and sat down." Her voice was shaking uncontrollably. Draco put his arm around her comfortingly, despite Mr. Granger's sound of disgust.

They made their way into the living room, where Draco and Hermione sat opposite the room from Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"What else is there to say?" Mrs. Granger asked shrilly. "We cannot force you to sever contact with him! You know how we feel about it, but in the end you have to make your own choice!"

"That is not what we intended to speak with you about," Draco's voice was calm, but Hermione could tell he was getting more and more upset.

"If you're asking my permission to marry my daughter then _absolutely not!_" Mr. Granger yelled.

"No, we actually came to inform you that Hermione and I are expecting a child together and we want you to continue to be a part of our lives and our future-" Draco was cut off by Mr. Granger leaping out of his chair and coming at Draco to attack him. Hermione quickly pulled out her wand.

"_Petrificus Totalus!"_ she cried, pointing her wand at her father. Her father's arms and legs locked to his sides and he fell to the floor, his face bright red from extreme fury.

"Hermione!" her mother screamed. "What have you done!" Mrs. Granger threw herself on the floor next to her motionless husband.

"He's fine, mum!" Hermione said sharply. "Now get up and just listen for _two seconds!_" Draco hurried to try and help Mrs. Granger off the floor, but she screamed and swatted his hand away. After a few more frantic minutes, everything seemed to calm down. Mr. Granger was able to move again and was sitting unhappily across the room again.

"So you got our daughter pregnant and expect us to welcome you into the family?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I was actually under the impression you would be more concerned with wanting to make sure your grandchild has a loving, warm family to depend on. I have already expressed my intentions with Hermione are all for the best. We are now trying to mediate so that our child will be able to know their grandparents." Draco spoke coolly. Mr. Granger looked embarrassed.

"I want nothing to do with this abomination!" Mr. Granger yelled. Mrs. Granger audibly gasped.

"Richard… don't speak carelessly…" she warned. Hermione stood still, unwilling to believe what her father had just shouted.

"What?" Draco found his voice.

"I want you both out of my house! You better be prepared to take her in, because I'm not paying one more cent for her to live in that flat! You want to be an adult, you got it! Apparently you can damn well take care of yourself if you're off getting pregnant with this evil bastard!" Everyone was silent while he roared. Hermione was crying silently as she watched her parents.

"You're my _parents!_" Hermione sobbed, clutching Draco's arm for support.

"I have no daughter," Mr. Granger spoke calmly before walking over to the front door and opening it quickly. Hermione was so upset she couldn't walk. Mrs. Granger was also crying uncontrollably and was sitting in an undignified heap on the floor.

"My baby…" she cried quietly, "my only baby…"

Draco had apparated himself and Hermione to his house. He set her down gently on one of the overstuffed leather couches in the living room as she continued to sob. He wasn't quite sure what the best thing to do was, so he compromised by putting his arm around her and ordering a house elf to bring them some drinks.

"I c-can't believe it!" Hermione cried. "I knew it would be bad, but never-_never_ did I think they would…" she started sobbing again.

"I know, I can't believe it either. I don't want you to worry, though, you can stay here with me…" Draco proposed. Hermione stopped crying and looked at him.

"You want me to move in with you?" she asked sniffling. Draco smiled warmly at her.

"I've been wanting you to come live with me for a long time. Now it seems perfect." Draco calmed her down. She smiled weakly at him.

"I'm such a bum…" she muttered, looking at the ground. "I can't even take care of myself anymore."

"Of course you can!" Draco encouraged. "But if you want, you can stay here until the baby is born and decide what you want to do at that point. You need to rest and relax." Hermione nodded slowly.

"I'm just not sure what other options I have…and it's not like we haven't lived together before I guess…" Hermione smirked at the memories from Hogwarts. The house elf arrived with a silver tray holding their drinks. Hermione sipped her lemonade politely while Draco used his cell phone to call Blaise and explain what was going on. After a few moments, Draco came back into the room and explained that her belongings were on their way and Ginny would try to call her later. Silence overcame the couple for a few minutes.

"Are you going to mind if I continue to play for Puddlemere?" Draco asked suddenly. Hermione looked over at him.

"Why would I mind if you did that? You love Quidditch." Hermione responded. Draco shifted nervously.

"Well, I dunno, I thought maybe you might want me around. I'm gone a lot for practices and away games… I don't want you to have to be-"

"Alone?" Hermione finished, smiling sweetly. She scooted closer to Draco. "It's fine if you continue playing. I'll be all right by myself. At least I know you'll be coming home to me…" Hermione caught herself before she finished. She hadn't meant to make it sound like they were married or something. Draco eyed her suspiciously.

"'Mione, how do you feel about us, well, you know- getting married?" Draco asked slowly, not looking at her. Hermione's heart started beating really quickly. She had wanted to avoid the marriage talk for as long as possible. Draco could tell his question made her uncomfortable and flustered. "You know, lets not worry about anything at the present. Let's just work on taking one day at a time, okay?" Draco said quickly. Hermione looked slightly relieved, and nodded.

The next few days went by quickly. It seemed as though the couple were stuck in between a dating relationship and a serious relationship. Neither one of them wanted to bring up the marriage topic again, but they also wanted to move past the awkwardness. They shared the same bed at night, but slept on opposite sides. The most they had done was when Hermione gave Draco a quick peck on the lips when he was leaving for Quidditch practice every morning. No "I love you's" were exchanged. The tension was mounting greatly between the two of them, and neither one seemed to know what to do. They had lost their flow, their easiness of the relationship back at school. Hermione remembered how she could talk to Draco about anything, or he would kiss her for no apparent reason at all. She missed the spontaneity, the excitement; everything was just awkward now. Hermione wondered if they had been separated too long, and had lost the connection they once shared. She still hadn't forgotten the kiss they shared in her flat that made her feel the way she used to.

_Why can't it be like that again?_ She wondered often.

Draco was feeling similar, but would never admit it to Hermione. He was beginning to think that asking her to move in with him had been a mistake; that it was causing more damage in their relationship than good. Wanting to try and make things better, Draco thought hard on what he would have done back at Hogwarts.

_Whenever things went wrong, Hermione and I always would go out to dinner and then go dancing to talk things over and get out of the slum we were in. It always worked back then. Maybe just doing something out and fun will help reconnect us. _ Draco thought to himself. His stress from the relationship was starting to affect his Quidditch game, and Draco knew he needed to do something quick to save his game and the girl he loved.

That night, he came home and Hermione was already in her pajamas reading a book on the couch.

_Be bold, Draco._ He told himself.

Draco threw his broom and robes on the floor and walked over to Hermione, who looked up from her book in surprise. Draco scooped her into his arms and kissed her deeply. Hermione didn't struggle, but actually swung her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Draco lifted her so that she could entwine her legs around his torso and free up his arms. A soft moan escaped Hermione's throat as Draco's tongue massaged her own erotically. Hermione didn't know what had caused this sudden change in Draco, but she liked it immensely. Feeling brave, she moved her hands to the hem of his shirt and tugged at it, letting him know she wanted it removed.

Draco set her down gently on the couch and pulled his shirt off in one sweeping motion. Hermione inhaled sharply as his figure was uncovered. He was brilliantly toned, not an inch of fat on his body. Draco laid himself on top of Hermione gently and began kissing her neck and collarbone. Hermione closed her eyes in ecstasy and ran her fingers through his hair. She noticed Draco's hand moving slowly underneath her shirt, over her stomach and up to her soft breasts. Draco paused quickly to kiss her belly a few times. She smiled down at him.

"It's almost like old times…" Draco said softly. Hermione smirked at him.

"It's going to be better…" she whispered.

"I want to take you out, 'Mione. Lets go have dinner somewhere really nice where you can dress up, and then we can go dancing- I know you love salsa…" Draco smiled. Hermione gasped in delight.

"Really?" she asked, a huge grin on her face.

"Really. You deserve to get out and have some fun… it's been… stressful… lately." Draco explained.  
"Oh- Draco!" Hermione flung her arms around him. "That would be just perfect! I'm so excited!" Hermione flounced off the couch, humming and spinning around every once in a while. Draco watched her and smiled.

_It's good to be back. _

A/N: I can't believe how many reviews I got for chapter three! Thank you guys SOOOO much! I'm still trying to respond to all the reviews, so if I leave you out I'm really really really sorry- it's nothing personal I promise!  I hope everyone is excited that this chapter had a little more Hermione/Draco time and they are much happier. I know it was sad with Hermione's parents, but everything happens for a reason… Also- in the next chapter you get to look forward to Narcissa Malfoy's reaction, Draco and Hermione's date, and maybe a lemon? Who knows! Let me know what you want to see, and I will try to work it in! Thanks for reviewing! Please continue to do it!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Falling Back In Love**

Hermione was wearing a fiery red salsa dress and lipstick to match. She had let her hair dry in natural curls and used brown eyeliner and shadow to create smoky eyes. As she sauntered into the living room, Draco gaped at her- this was the Hermione he remembered.

"'Mione-" Draco was lost for words. She smiled at him, and held out her hand.

"Are you ready?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded silently, still staring at her.

They made it to a place well known for dancing and then dinner afterwards. It was a very high-class place, and Draco's family actually had some money invested in it.

"Welcome to _Moonlight_, may I take your jacket?" the greeter asked. Draco smirked and shrugged off his jacket. Hermione was peering inside anxiously and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "There is going to be a minor delay before we can seat you- we are completely filled at the present." The man finished. Draco's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"My name is Draco Malfoy," he replied quietly. The man's eyebrows shot up and he moved aside quickly.

"Please come in, Mr. Malfoy, I did not recognize you… my sincere apologies…" Hermione looked at Draco in surprise and admiration, but did not say anything until they were seated at an excellent table.

"Wow, Draco… you sure know some influential people…" she whispered. He grinned at her.

They had an extraordinary time, dancing, laughing, talking, and basically catching up. The awkward tension they had been dealing with was broken, allowing them fall in love with each other all over again. Draco began noticing all the small things he had forgotten about that Hermione did; the way she scrunched her nose when she laughed hard, the little freckles on her face. Hermione began to remember why she had fallen in love with Draco the first time as well. He protected her, made her feel like a princess, and he loved her. They danced closely the whole night, fast and slow music alike.

By the time they arrived back at the house, Hermione had fallen asleep in the car so Draco carried her in and laid her on the bed before climbing in after her.

"'Mione, I think I forgot to tell you, but I'm going to visit my mother today…" Draco said at breakfast the next day. Hermione wasn't really paying attention as she poured a glass of juice.

"Okay, that sounds fun…" Draco stopped eating and looked at her.

"You want to come, then?" he asked. She glanced up at him.

"Hmm?" He sighed and set his fork down.

"Love, I'm going to tell my mother about the _baby_ today. Do you want to come with me?" Draco explained patiently. Hermione looked thoroughly nervous.

"Umm… well, I guess it's only fair since you came with me…" she spoke quickly. Draco chuckled.

"It might be better if you stayed here, honestly. I'm not quite sure how she's going to take it. I thought I would offer in case you really wanted to go." Hermione smiled at him.

"I'll stay here, then. I'm right in the middle of a book about Lamaze." She explained.

"Right, well, I'm off then!" Draco beamed at her and leaned over to kiss her goodbye.

"Good luck!" Hermione waved as he walked out the door.

Draco walked up the long pathway to the front of the Malfoy Manor. So many times he remembered taking this exact same walk and being in fear of what his father was going to do or say when he got home. Now he feared his mother. As his walk came to an end, he reached out to ring the doorbell and took a deep breath.

_This is it._

The door swung open almost immediately.

"Draco!" His mother enveloped him in a tight hug. "Darling, darling, how I've _missed you!_" she cried happily.

"Hello, mum…" Draco faltered.

"Come in, it's much more enjoyable inside." Narcissa shoved him inside and ordered the house elves to bring them drinks. "Now, what do I owe the surprise visit?" she gushed, once sitting down. Draco looked at his mother. It was obvious she had been a beautiful witch in her prime, but many years of an abusive, angry husband had paid its toll on her. She still looked frightened in her eyes, and slightly withered all over. Draco felt sorry for her in a way.

"Well, something very wonderful and exciting has happened…" Draco started. He didn't know how to do this.

"Go on, dear, tell me what it is!" Narcissa leaned forward in anticipation.

"I met a girl-" Draco wasn't able to finish.

"From what family?" Narcissa whipped on her glasses and summoned a long, dirty looking list from somewhere. She glanced back up at Draco, a smile beginning to grow on her face.

"Well, that's the thing…" Draco pulled himself together. "She's a Granger." Draco watched his mother scan the list desperately before looking back up at him in anguish.

"She's not from pureblood!" Narcissa shrieked.

"No, she's not. But there's more, mum." Draco was starting to feel slightly annoyed.

"What else?" Narcissa leaned back into her chair, her arms folded across her chest.

"We're having a child together…" Draco said quickly. "And we're talking about marriage." Narcissa was silent for a moment.

"How far along is the girl?" she asked.

"Umm…" Draco counted silently in his head for a second or two, "about fifteen or sixteen weeks. Why?"

"Impossible." She said quietly, not looking at Draco.

"Pardon?" Draco questioned.

"I said impossible. It will not happen… tell me her name; we will have her disposed of immediately-" Narcissa stood up quickly. Draco gaped at her, not knowing what to do for a few horrific seconds.

"No!" he finally shouted, leaping from the chair. "Mum, you don't understand- I'm going to be a _father!_ This girl is carrying our child!" Narcissa spun around, glaring at her son.

"I will not stand here and allow the Malfoy heir to be brought into this world by a _mudblood!_" she spat, looking dangerous. Draco drew himself to his full height, towering above his mother by almost an entire foot.

"Very well. I will not punish you with my child's presence or my own from now on. Good bye, mother." Draco gave her a quick peck on the cheek before walking out the door. As he closed the door behind him, he heard her piercing cry begin to rip through the mansion.

Draco silently was thankful he was playing professional Quidditch, and bringing in a substantial amount of pay. There was absolutely no way his mother would continue to grant him his inheritance after all this was happening.

_This is the way it feels to only have myself to count on. Now it's up to me to provide for my family and my self. _

It was about noon, and Draco was still not back at the house. Hermione had occupied herself with reading and doing small tasks around the house, but she lost her energy so quickly these days it was hard to do anything for an extensive amount of time. Just as she was heading upstairs to take a nap, she heard her cell phone ringing. Cursing, she fumbled downstairs to try and reach her phone before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?" Hermione picked up the phone at the last second.

""MIONE!" Ginny screamed on the other line. "HARRY AND RON ARE BACK! HARRY'S SAFE! THEY DID IT, HERMIONE!" Hermione suddenly felt very faint and had to clutch onto the side of the couch for support.

"Wh-what?" She asked, breathless. Before Ginny could respond, a rushing noise filled the room and Hermione turned to see Harry, followed by Ron, followed by Ginny, followed by Blaise stumble into the living room. They were covered in dirt, but came sprinting over to her, beaming smiles plastered on their smudged faces.

"'Mione!" Harry cried as he pulled her into a bear hug. Hermione felt Ron latch onto the hug, as well as Ginny.

"I can't believe you're back!" Hermione shrieked, her eyes filling up with tears of relief and happiness. "We were so worried about you guys!" The hug broke apart, everyone still grinning at each other.

"We've got so much to tell you…" Ron burst.

A/N: You guys are the best reviewers ever! I want to especially thank sweetblood-theDraconianDevil, because I got the most awesome message from her ever! I would give more shout-outs, but that would take like 10 pages… so I'm trying to respond to all your reviews personally! Sorry it took a little bit longer to post this chapter than the others, but I've been kinda busy lately. OH! Yesterday, my fiancé (Chris) and I went to a Ranger's game and HE CAUGHT A FOUL BALL! YAY! I was so excited- we got on TV and everything! Yay for boys bringing gloves to baseball games! LOL! Okay, so anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, I know its kinda short (sorry!), but I'll try and post a nice long one soon! Thanks so much for reading, and please review!

-shesmyfavorite


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Surprises All Over the Place**

Draco slowly made his way out to his car, thinking about everything that had just happened between his mother and himself. After losing his father, Draco had not felt as much sadness or loss as he had expected to plague him. Having his mother react the way she did to the baby news made Draco feel worse than he had in a long time- she was the only loving family member he had. He half-heartedly hoped she would throw open the heavy gothic doors and come sprinting after him, apologizing for her accusations and harsh words. Once Draco had made it all the way to his car, he realized she was not going to come after him. He glanced one last time at the dull grey stone of the mansion before starting his car and driving back to Hermione.

As Draco opened the front door to his house, he heard unfamiliar voices echoing from the living room on his right. The voices died away as Draco stepped into the entryway and inspected the noisy houseguests. He wanted to glare at them all and demand they leave his home. Only he knew Hermione wouldn't find that very amusing, seeing as they were all her friends expect Blaise. Wait- Blaise?

_What the hell is he doing here, with Weasels and Potter?_

Hermione rushed over to him and threw her arms around his torso. Draco knew he would have to put on a happy face to save the day.

"Draco! Look- Harry and Ron are back!" she cried. Draco's face broke into an uncertain grin as he extended his hand to shake with Potter and Weasley.

"Welcome back to the real world…" Draco grinned. Harry took his hand first, then Ron. "So what's been going on?" Draco asked, looking around.

"We were about to find out until you decided to come home and interrupt…" Ginny muttered, the sides of her mouth twitching slightly. Draco raised his eyebrows at her.

"My apologies… please continue…" Draco mock bowed and took a hold of Hermione's hand as they made their way to sit down.

"Well," Ron started, "after I owled 'Mione about Harry missing, we ran into some wicked Death Eaters. After we had blasted our way through them, we found a decrepit old wizard who promised to give us information in exchange for some firewhisky. Luckily, Harry had packed some in a canteen before we left-" Hermione shot Harry a reproachful look, "- so we ended up finding Voldemort's lair way sooner than expected." Ron took a breath and looked around the room. "We found Harry lying in a pool of blood on the ground, and my first thought was that we were too late- that Voldemort had finished him off. Then I saw…" Ron shivered visibly, "-him…V-Voldemort's dead mutilated body in pieces all around the room. Harry had cursed him until all that was left were… pieces…" Hermione shared a dark look with Draco.

"Obviously, I wasn't dead." Harry smirked. "I had managed to find him and duel him. He was weaker than he anticipated, not knowing we had already found and destroyed all his Horcruxes. I finished him off, but not before he landed a few good ones on me… that was when Ron found me." Harry finished. Ginny spoke first.

"But, why did you separate from Ron and the rest of the Order?" Harry faltered, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Because I thought I could finish him myself, and in case anything happened, I didn't want them to be there- I felt as though it was strictly between him and me. It was unfinished business directly between us, so I knew I was the only one who could do it if it could even be done at all…" Harry explained quietly. Ginny rested her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Suddenly, Hermione made a loud noise.

"Th-that means…" she paused for a second, looking delirious. "Voldemort's _gone!" _

The group decided it was a damn good occasion to go out and celebrate before everyone else in the wizarding world knew the joyous news. Everyone had left, agreeing to meet at a local bar later that night. Draco was gracious for the alone time with Hermione; he had news of his own to share with her. He felt bad for having to taint the good day she was having with bad news, but he knew she would want to know everything that happened sooner rather than later.

"I think I'm going to try and take a nap before we go see everyone again tonight…" Hermione yawned, and started making her way up the stairs.

"Love-" Draco exclaimed, louder than he meant. Hermione turned around and fixed her eyes upon him. "I wanted to tell you how it went with my mum today…" he finished quietly. Hermione's eyes lit up.

"Oh, yes!" she squealed, her face broke into a big grin.

"Well, don't get too excited, it didn't go over as well as I had hoped." He just knew this was going to be a disaster. She was going to cry and make him feel like he failed her. Hermione sighed.

"I sort of thought it might not…" she said calmly. Surprised at her response, Draco continued to explain everything that had happened at his mother's house earlier that day.

"-So then I just walked out to my car and drove home. I mean, I knew she wasn't going to jump up and down about the news, but I thought she would at least appreciate the fact that it was my first child…" Draco finished sadly. Hermione smiled at him.

"I'm sure everything will work out all right in the end…" she responded, still smiling. Draco's eyebrows rose.

At precisely nine thirty that evening, the group met at a local bar called 'Pockets' and proceeded to order drinks. Hermione, naturally, wasn't able to drink alcohol, so satisfied herself with unsweetened ice tea with extra lemon. After half an hour of drinking and talking, Ginny got up.

"Does anyone want to dance with me?" she called out to the group, twirling around. Blaise eyed her, and raised his hand.

"I would!" he offered, shooting Draco a look as he made his way over to the redhead. Hermione watched them dance longingly. Finally, Draco seemed to pick up on her looks and asked her to dance as well. Harry and Ron were talking to a group of cute blondes over in the corner as the two couples danced.

"It's great that everyone is here safely…" Hermione rested her chin on Draco's chest and looked up at him while they danced. He smiled down at her.

"Yeah… have you told them yet?" Draco asked. Hermione looked back down at the ground. "I guess that means no." Draco laughed softly and pulled her chin back up with his hand.

"I'm going to Draco. I just- with everything else that is going on right now- and I mean- I guess I should, but-" Hermione blurted out, slightly panicky. She stopped dancing and looked close to tears.

"I wish you wouldn't cry so much, love." Draco whispered, pulling her back into the dance. "It's really not that big of a deal- tell them whenever you're ready- I was just curious…" Hermione snuggled closer to him.

After another hour, Hermione was feeling tired and Draco had to get sleep for his Quidditch match the next morning. Hermione and Draco decided to leave and waved goodbye to everyone. Blaise and Ginny were still dancing very close to one another, while Harry and Ron had progressed to receiving free drinks and massages from the blondes.

"They don't waste any time, do they?" Hermione raised her eyebrows as she glanced at her friends. Draco sighed happily and smirked while he dug his hands into his jean pockets.

"Ahh, the good ol' days…" a dreamy expression crossed his face.

"Draco!" Hermione punched his bicep.

The next morning, Draco rose at six to start getting ready for the match. Much to his surprise, Hermione already had breakfast served and ready at the table for him.

"Good morning, Mr. Quidditch Super Star. I have concocted a breakfast fit for the most athletic and intelligent Seeker ever to grace this earth." Hermione glided gracefully over to him and kissed him.

"If you're talking about Potter I'll have to kill you…" Draco murmured, smirking slightly. Hermione pretended to look offended.

"I don't even get a simple 'thank you' after I slaved over this hot stove for hours and hours this morning before you got your lazy bum out of bed?" Hermione cried, her lips showing signs of an impending smile.

"Hermione, you made toast-" Draco laughed. She glared at him.

"Who are you playing today, anyway?" she asked him after they finally sat down to eat.

"Actually, it's kind of funny. I was going to keep it a surprise, but what the hell. I'm going to be competing against Krum today. You have to cheer extra loud for me, especially so he can hear and see you." Draco explained. Hermione gaped at him.

"Oh no! I never wanted to see him again after we broke up in fifth year… he was a _terrible_ boyfriend- absolutely horrid!" Hermione moaned. Draco doubled up in laughter.

When Draco and Hermione managed to get to the pitch, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Blaise greeted them.

"We decided to show up on a whim to see you play against Krum!" Ron looked absolutely ecstatic.

"Yeah, it's about time someone showed him up!" Blaise patted Draco on the back hard. While the guys were talking to Draco about the game today, Ginny pulled Hermione aside quietly.

"I need to talk to you really badly…" she whispered, looking frightened.

"Are you okay?" Hermione gasped, taking hold of her friend's hand. Ginny shrugged quickly.

"Something happened last night after you and Draco left the bar-" Ginny started to explain but was interrupted when the boys called over to start heading into the stands. Draco jogged over to Hermione and rubbed her belly gently.

"Wish me luck?" he asked, smiling at her. Hermione kissed him deeply.

"Win for us?" she asked, cradling her stomach. Draco nodded before turning around and running to catch up with his teammates.

A/N: ACK! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update- I promised it would be posted by last Wednesday, I believe, but then I went on a spontaneous road trip. It was really fun! But I'm soo sooo sorry! I'm going to try and post chapter seven tomorrow- I have it all outlined, I just need to type it! Please don't be mad at me! I would have warned you all if I knew I was going to be gone for so long! Please read and review! You guys make my day with reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Whenever I am typing the chapters in Word, I use the little asterisks to separate when there is a time change, or scene change or something, but it never shows up when the chapter is posted on fanfiction! So, to help minimize confusion, I'm going to start separating these changes with this: (…) so you will be better equipped to tell what I am trying to do. Sorry for any confusion with my other chapters! Hopefully this will resolve any further confusion.On with the story!

**Chapter Seven: Draco vs. Krum**

The Quidditch match was set to begin at eight in the morning, and by the time everyone had piled into the stands it was a quarter to eight. They all watched Puddlemere and Bulgarian players warm up around the pitch, shouting encouragement to Draco whenever he flew near them. Hermione wouldn't dare admit it, but she was secretly hoping that Viktor would recognize her so she could tell him that she was with Draco now.

_How childish is that?_ Hermione thought to herself. _Thinking up petty tactics to make my ex-boyfriend be jealous all over again. He was such a terrible boyfriend! He should know that I'm doing better than him now!_

Hermione smiled inwardly to herself, knowing even if the opportunity came, she would be too chicken to do anything.

Suddenly, the announcer came on, signaling the match was about to begin. Hermione felt herself flush with excitement and anticipation- this was going to be a great match, she could practically feel it.

The players from each team lined up and the captains shook hands. Hermione saw Viktor glance up at her briefly, but she was too far away to read his expression. A shrill whistle sounded in the air, and all the players kicked off hard from the ground and began zooming around in the air, reaching for the quaffle and aiming for stray bludgers. Hermione felt Ginny and the boys stand up to watch the match better.

Needless to say, the game got really dirty really quickly. One of the Puddlemere chasers was hit in the head with a bludger that sent them flying off their broomstick and hurtling towards the ground. They were stopped at the very last second by the referee, and immediately transported to St. Mungo's. There were many dirty hits, kicks, and words exchanged throughout the game, making it difficult for Hermione to watch. She became increasingly nervous as she watched Draco take hits from the Bulgarian team and give out some mean ones of his own. Draco was becoming steadily famous because of his ancestry, but also because he was such a young player- similar to Krum. Things were beginning to get out of hand after the game had been going on for about an hour, but the score was only 90 Bulgaria and 60 Puddlemere. Seemingly out of nowhere, both Draco and Viktor began rocketing up in the sky in the same general direction. They were riding very close together, both feeling they had something to prove to Hermione. Just as suddenly as the two competitors had bolted upwards, they spun around and descended equally as quickly. The Snitch had moved dangerously close to where Hermione, Ginny, Blaise, Harry and Ron were sitting. It hovered in the air above them, wings fluttering like mad, reminding Hermione of a small hummingbird. Draco had a nervous look on his face, he knew the crowd was in high danger with both himself and Krum rocketing towards them after the same object.

_Should I just let him have it and throw away the game, or should I risk hurting Hermione and others and go for it? _Draco's mind battled with itself.

Throwing caution to the wind, (he was a Malfoy after all) Draco urged him broom forward, begging it to fly just a nanosecond faster than Krum's. Draco reached out his hand desperately for the Snitch and closed his fingers around it, feeling Krum's nails slash into his flesh as he tried to rip it out of Draco's reach. Draco held firm, causing Krum to roar in frustration and anger. The whistle blew, letting the crowd and the rest of the team members know the game was over, Puddlemere United as the victors.

All the players flew down to the field to shake hands, but instead of shaking Draco's hand, Krum punched him hard square in the nose.

"Son of a _bitch!_" Draco cursed, holding his bleeding nose. Without hesitation, Krum attempted to land another blow to Draco's face, but Draco evaded it easily and released a terrific right hook right in between Krum's eyes. Krum stumbled backwards a few steps as his newly opened flesh began to seep blood down into his eyes. The two men lunged towards each other, causing the rest of the players from their respectful teams to jump in and join in the battle.

Hermione and Ginny watched the fight below in horror, although Ron, Harry and Blaise cheered Draco and Puddlemere on loudly.

"Getting our money's worth, we are!" Ron shouted gleefully at Harry and Blaise, who responded with appreciative laughter.

People who worked for the Quidditch organization were rushing onto the field to try and help break up the fight, but it seemed to just add more numbers to the people in the middle who were decking each other. After about five minutes of complete chaos and pandemonium, the crowd on the quidditch field suddenly parted around Draco and Viktor. Viktor was laid out on the ground and looked as though he had gotten the living hell beaten out of him. Draco stood towering over him, breathing hard, and looking almost as bloody. The crowd let out a deafening cheer, and camera flashes started going off through the stands. Magical reporters were ushering Draco to the side, begging for an interview and snapping pictures whenever they could. Confused and tired, Draco gave a quick interview before the team manager warded everyone off and escorted Draco to the changing rooms.

(…)

Hermione and Draco had apparated to Draco's home, avoiding their friend's pleas to have a party that night. Hermione looked at her bedraggled boyfriend sadly.

"Are you alright, Draco?" she asked softly, pushing some stray hairs away from his face. Draco tried his best at a smile.

"Sure, I'm fine. You should have seen Krum, though…" he boasted. Hermione laughed and hugged him. Draco pulled her chin up towards him and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips touched softly at first, but soon began to build something more. They began exploring one another hungrily, tearing clothing off and tossing it aside. Draco picked Hermione up and carried her to the bedroom, nibbling her ear and kissing her neck and collarbone the entire way. He placed her gently on the bed and removed the remaining articles of clothing. Hermione whimpered as Draco licked a line from her bellybutton up to her breasts.

"You're just teasing me, now…" she pouted. Draco grinned at her, but said nothing.

Hermione moved her hand slowly down from his hard chest to his abdomen, down further until she reached the spot that made Draco groan throatily. She began to stroke him, slowly at first to feed his passion, but progressed quickly as Draco began to pant near the nape of her neck. Feeling like fire, Draco pushed himself inside her, causing her to moan in unexpected gratification. Working to his own rhythm, Draco began to rock her, feeling out her familiar signs of pleasure. He leaned down to bite her nipple and then engulf it with his warm tongue to soothe the slight pain. Hermione cried out in delight. Draco rocked harder and faster until Hermione was screaming his name. He felt he had everything in control until Hermione arched her back up, releasing her orgasm, causing Draco to spin wildly out of control and match her in pleasure.

The pair breathed heavily and kissed, Draco still inside her.

"I love you…" Draco breathed, kissing her cheek. It had been so long since Hermione had heard those words. Up until this point, it had been an unspoken thing. Who was going to say it first?

"I love you too…" Hermione whispered, letting him rest his head on her chest and wrapping her arms around him.

(…)

Draco rose first the next morning, and yawned very ungracefully by the edge of the bed. He made his way slowly downstairs, his plan to start making breakfast for Hermione and himself and wait on the morning paper. As he started getting all his materials together, the owl delivering the _Daily Prophet_ arrived. Draco paid the owl cheerfully and glanced at the headlines.

Hermione was awoken by Draco's horrified scream. Rushing frantically out of bed, she grabbed her wand and dashed downstairs.

"Draco! What is it!" she cried, panicked. Draco stood perfectly still in the kitchen, his mouth open, staring at the paper. Hermione stopped suddenly as Draco held up the paper for her to read.

"Voldemort's dead, yes, yes, but what is the matter- oh. Oh my God." Hermione paled as she read the paper. "They have an article on the front page about me being pregnant with your child?" she asked incredulously. Draco simply stared at her, continuing to look appalled. Hermione gazed out the window and gasped. Draco spun around and witnessed about a hundred owls flying towards the house.

"I suppose we're going to be receiving fan mail, now?" he asked in disgust to no one in particular.

"Hate mail, more likely…" Hermione muttered, sitting down at the kitchen table heavily. She rested her head in her hands. "What on earth are they trying to do? Get us killed?" she sighed as the owls began to flutter in through the open window.

(…)

Draco had the next few weeks off without any Quidditch games, only practices he had to attend four times a week. He and Hermione had begun to argue about some baby issues that needed to be resolved.

"Love, do you want to try and find out the sex of the baby soon?" Draco questioned during dinner one evening. Hermione looked hesitant.

"Well, I'm not sure. There are actually a few things I've been wanting to discuss with you lately…" Hermione began. "Do we want to raise the baby knowing a magical or muggle way of life for instance?" Draco nearly choked on his drink.

"Is that really an option?" he exclaimed. Hermione glared at him.

"I grew up as a _muggle_, Draco! There is nothing wrong with it! Naturally, our child would go to school at Hogwarts, but what do we do up to that point? Leave him or her out of any kind of school?" Hermione asked heatedly.

"Well, my mother just taught me things from home! What's so wrong with that?" Draco asked. Hermione's face softened.

"I suppose that is the best option. I was rather attached to all my school friends, and it left a lot of awkward questions unanswered when I suddenly left…" Hermione reflected. Draco nodded triumphantly.

"You never really answered my question from the start." Draco said suddenly.

"Darling, I can see lots of positive and negative things either way. I am more inclined to just let it be a surprise and wait until the baby is born." Hermione said.

"But, we need to plan things ahead of time, 'Mione. We have a room to paint, clothes to buy, toys to pick out… everything!" Draco threw his hands up in the air.

"Well, there is such a thing as neutral colors! Yellow, for instance." Hermione explained. "Some things I believe were meant to be surprises, Draco…" He knew he was beaten out of this battle.

"Alright. Fine, let's wait…" Draco said, defeated. "I hate waiting…" Hermione smiled at him lovingly.

"Now that all of that is all settled, I promised Ginny she and I could have a day of girl fun, so I'm kicking you out of the house at ten in the morning tomorrow." Hermione said calmly, taking a dainty sip of her drink. Draco scowled at her.

"Are you trying to tell me that you're kicking me out of my own home?"

"Yes."

"Fine." He sighed, knowing better than to argue with her about 'girl time'.

"Draco, I never get to see her since she's back at school!" Hermione explained quickly, smiling at him. Draco leaned over the table and kissed her forehead.

"Yes, dear…" he smirked slightly.

(…)

Ginny arrived promptly at ten in the morning the next day, causing Hermione to rush Draco out the door quite unceremoniously. He glared at her the whole time, even as he apparated away.

"Men…" Hermione breathed, shaking her head. Ginny smiled at her and nodded in agreement. The girls sat down on the couch and made small talk for almost an hour as they munched on various fruit.

"Hermione…" Ginny suddenly looked very serious, " Do you remember how I was wanting to talk to you at Draco's game a few weeks back?" Realization dawned on Hermione's face.

"Oh no! I completely forgot about it- I'm so sorry, you must have thought I didn't care…" Hermione exclaimed.

"No, no, it's fine." Ginny shook her head. "It's just, that… well… we all went out that night, and I danced with Blaise for so long- we made this kind of erotic connection out of nowhere…" she looked at Hermione for approval.

"Don't tell me you and he-"

"I know! It was stupid!" Ginny hid her face in her hands and glowed a bright scarlet color.

"Ginny! You _slept_ with him?" Hermione asked in disbelief. Ginny nodded, her head still hidden.

"I told you it was stupid! I don't know what came over me- he was just so perfect that night and we had been drinking a little, and he just felt so _good_…"

"Eww!" Hermione cried, laughing. Ginny looked up at her suddenly and grinned.

"It's not 'eww'! He is really cute!" Ginny said, mocking an offended tone.

"What are you going to do now? Has it been awkward? Have you even _spoken_ to him since?" Hermione interrogated her.

"We've gone out a few times… I guess you can call them dates. It hasn't been terribly awkward, but definitely not perfectly smooth either…" Ginny answered.

"Have you slept with him again, then?" Hermione looked absolutely giddy. Ginny didn't answer, but gave her a look. "You have!" Hermione practically shrieked. Ginny blushed again.

"But I don't know what to _do_!" Ginny cried.

"Well, just keep moving forward, take one thing at a time…" Hermione recommended.

"It's not just that…we haven't used any kind of anything…" Ginny tried to explain. Hermione eyed her suspiciously.

"Are you trying to say what I think you're trying to say?"

"Yes…" Ginny mumbled, looked ashamed.

"After what's happened to _me_?" Hermione looked shocked.

"It's not like we're trying to have a kid! It just… never came up to use anything… it all happens so fast…" Ginny tried to explain.

"You don't have to preach to me… I know how that goes…" Hermione grinned at her. "You're not late or anything are you?"

"That's just it… I am a couple days… but not anything abnormal that I should be worried about yet. I've been a couple days late before…" Ginny sighed.

"Do you want to be with him, Gin?" Hermione asked softly.

"I think I do… he's really a great guy… he treats me really well…" Ginny's voice sounded tight. "But I don't know what I'll do if I end up pregnant right now…"

A/N: Thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews! I'm sad to say that I'm not going to be able to update as often as I have been able to, because today is my first day of summer school. I'm only taking six hours, but since it's summer classes, they are usually kind of fast paced. I'll try and update once or twice a week? Please review guys! Thanks so much for reading!

-shesmyfavorite


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: The Weird Letter**

When Draco arrived back at home, it was close to six in the evening. Hermione was waiting patiently for him, reading another book on birthing styles.

"Hello good lookin'!" Draco called from the entryway. Hermione looked up at him from her book and beamed.

"You sound happy," she said, setting her book down and standing up to greet him. Draco shrugged, closing the door behind him.

"It's always fun to hang out with Blaise. How'd everything go today with you?" Hermione gave him a look. "Not so good, huh?"

"Well, Ginny told me she and Blaise have been… um… _you know_… without any kind of insurance…" Hermione finished, smirking slightly. Draco wrinkled his brow.

"Really? Blaise said he'd been using a contraceptive spell- but he _can_ do some wandless magic, so maybe Ginny didn't know or something…" Draco pulled Hermione into a hug, and then kissed her forehead.

"He should probably let her know- she's worried about it." Hermione snuggled into his warmth.

"I'll send him an owl later tonight then," Draco suddenly hoisted Hermione into his arms and charged upstairs. "But first I have some business to attend to!"

(…)

January seemed to come extremely quickly for Hermione and Draco. Hermione was officially nine months pregnant on January third, and her stomach had swelled to what she referred to as 'a giant pumpkin'. Draco was hard pressed to hide his enthusiasm, which helped fuel the reporters knocking on their door and calling them all hours of the night. People were screaming about the baby's name, sex, and why the hell hadn't Draco proposed to the girl yet? Despite all the chaos, Draco and Hermione managed to live quite contently- until one little piece of mail.

Draco had left early in the morning for practice, so Hermione had plopped herself down on the large, comfy couch to read about baby names. The normal twenty or so owls flew in with letters from nosy witches and wizards asking rude questions about Hermione and Draco's personal life and their baby. Out of the particular owls that flew in, only one of them seemed to look slightly different to Hermione. Usually she just left them all alone until lunchtime, where she would unceremoniously toss them into the fire, unopened. The letter that caught her eye was not like the usual post- this one had a stamp on it.

"It couldn't possibly…" Hermione thought aloud as she tore the letter open. She hadn't heard anything from her parents since the night she and Draco told them about their baby. Shaking slightly, Hermione read the letter.

_Dearest Draco, _

_I'm sure you never expected to hear from me again after everything that happened in sixth year. I'm sorry for avoiding you for so long- I have been getting your mail, I just never responded. It would have been too hard to try and explain before now. Because of everything that is going on in the news with you and your new girlfriend, I thought it be the best time to tell you. I have kept something from you for a very long time, and I don't really know how to tell you about it properly. I'm sure you remember all the wonderful, intimate times we have shared, and something even more wonderful happened because of it. We have a son together, Draco, his name is Tyler. This isn't really the type of thing that is best to tell in a letter, but I wasn't sure how you were going to react. I know that your son would love to meet you- he's just a baby still, but he deserves to have you in his life. I'm not going to ask you to leave your girlfriend, I just want you to remember everything that you and I went through, and what we have to share now. Please write me, I miss you very much. _

_Yours forever, _

_-M_

"Who the fuck is 'M'!" Hermione shouted, her eyes welling up with tears. She half crumpled up the letter, throwing it as hard as she could at the wall. Clutching her swollen stomach, she let her tears fall freely and sobbed loudly.

_What am I supposed to do now? I don't have anywhere to go… _

Hermione was unsure what she was supposed to do next, but she knew damn well she wasn't going to stay with an evasive, manipulative man. Continuing to sob, Hermione moved as quickly as she could up the stairs and began throwing her belongings into her old school trunk. She thought for a terrified moment that the front door had opened and shut, but when she listened she heard no other movement in the house.

Just as she started dragging her trunk around the corner to the stairs, she skidded to a stop as she came face to face with Draco who was clutching the half-crumpled letter in his hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked her bluntly.

"I'm leaving." Hermione spat. Draco lifted the letter.

"Because of this?"

"No, because the house is too cold you moron. How could you not tell me about her?" Hermione finally burst. Draco stared at her silently for a moment.

"She has to be lying." Draco's voice shook. Hermione glared at him.

"How could you possibly know?"

"I just do." He said quietly.

"Well that's just wonderful. What am I supposed to do now?" Hermione through her arms in the air, tears still running down her cheeks.

"Do you really want to leave?" Draco asked, his voice cold. Hermione studied him for a few seconds.

"I don't know, Draco. I don't feel like I know anything anymore. I don't even know if I can trust you- you lied to me about _her_-"

"You never asked! How can I lie if you never asked?" Draco shouted.

"It's not the kind of thing you think to ask, Draco! Hey, by the way, do you have any other children by any other women? What the fuck do you expect? You should have TOLD ME!" Hermione screamed back.

"I didn't know! You knew before I did for God's sake!" Draco's voice cracked and he did something he had never done to Hermione before- he turned his back to her and walked away.

A/N: Super short chapter, I know I'm sorry! I will totally make it up to you in the next one, I promise. I've had lots of homework already, which kind of puts me in a not so creative mood. But I will definitely post a nice LOONG chapter soon, very soon! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews and support for the story. I did get a lot of feedback that the Ginny thing was not going to go over so hot, so I made sure to address that right away. I appreciate your feedback, I like to know what you want to read and what you don't want to read- as long as you are respectful about it. Please review!

-shesmyfavorite


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: The Mysterious "M" **

Draco walked silently down the stairs and then turned to grab his jacket. He looked back up at Hermione for a fleeting moment and finally spoke.

"You don't have to leave, I will…" He opened the front door and stepped outside into the cold January snow.

Hermione heard the heavy door slam, and she knew he was gone. Completely taken off guard, Hermione stood there for a good five minutes, staring at the door while tears streamed silently down her cheeks. Suddenly, white-hot anger took over her body. She screamed and grabbed the closest thing to her, which happened to be a picture of Hermione and Draco and threw it as hard as she could at the wall. The picture soared through the air and hit the wall with a piercing shatter while the glass sprayed around the hallway. Hermione sat down in a lump, crying into her hands.

She realized after a few minutes that she wasn't going to get anywhere by sitting on the floor crying, so she was going to go take a shower and think everything over more rationally. As she set a hand behind her to help hoist herself up, a searing pain caused her to stop abruptly. Hermione clutched her injured hand and looked down at it. A large piece of glass had penetrated her skin, and was residing deep within her. Holding her breath, Hermione pulled it out. As soon as the glass was completely out of her, blood began to seep quickly out of the wound.

With a jolt, Hermione was reminded that the baby inside her was relying on this blood just as much as she was. Suddenly, Hermione knew what she needed to do next. The best thing she could do for her child was to find whoever "M" was, and try to figure things out.

_Perhaps it was all just a cruel joke._ Hermione thought. _Maybe this is going to work out, and everything can go back to the way it was._

Hermione lifted herself off the ground, and raced to the bathroom to clean her deep cut. After it was clean, she magically healed it and sought after the owl that brought the letter earlier in the morning. As she made her way into the living area, she saw that all the owls had already flown away except the family owl, Pilot.

"Pilot, come here please." Hermione spoke, raising her arm for the owl to perch on. "I need you to do something for me. Find the owl that delivered this letter earlier this morning, okay? Bring them back so I can reply. Thank you-" Hermione showed the letter to the owl and led it to the window so it could soar off her arm into the breeze.

(…)

Draco had let the door behind him slam on accident. He hadn't meant for it to sound like he was angry with Hermione for opening the letter, or even for wanting to leave. He could respect her opinion, even if it made him feel like he was never going to be happy again.

He had left with the intention of finding the girl who had sent the letter. Draco knew exactly who she was, but nothing was adding up the way she had explained in the letter. Originally, Draco was just going to apparate over to her flat, but seeing as he felt really unstable, he thought it be safer if he just flew his broom. Casting an invisibility spell on himself and his broom, Draco kicked off from the ground and flew quickly over to the girl's flat.

He reached his destination after about thirty minutes of flying time and undid the invisibility spell. Throwing his broom over his shoulder, Draco walked over to the door and knocked on it. After a few seconds, the door flew open to reveal a familiar face.

"Draco-" she breathed, looking slightly shocked and excited. "I didn't think you were going to come."

"Where's Tyler?" Draco asked quickly, trying to peer around her into the flat.

"Come inside, there is much to explain…" the girl grabbed Draco's arm unnecessarily hard. When he did not budge, she looked up at him. Her face was tan, unlike Hermione's. She had hazel eyes, heavily lined with makeup. Her lips were full, beautiful like Draco remembered, and perfect teeth behind them. Her hair was a dirty blonde color, and cut shoulder length.

_She was always beautiful_. Draco thought.

"Meria- why didn't you tell me?" Draco's voice sounded tight.

"Will you just come in?" she sounded agitated. Draco walked in and Meria quickly closed and locked the door behind him. "Now, sit down, please." Draco obeyed.

"We only had sex twice…" Draco mumbled into his hands.

"Well it only takes _once_, Draco!" Meria stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. "But actually, that's not the real reason I wanted to see you." She finished quietly. Draco looked up at her. "I kind of…um… didn't tell you the entire truth in that letter…"

"I don't have a son?" Draco asked quickly, standing up.

"Calm down, Draco. It's just… I hadn't seen you in so long until your Quidditch game last week-" Draco's team had played a team from France, known for playing really dirty and mean. They had beaten them by a mere 20 points in the end by Draco catching the Snitch. "-and I remembered how sexy you were and how successful you must be now…"

"You tricked me into coming over here because you think I'm rich _now_?" Draco asked in disbelief. "I have less money now that I did back when we were in school! You didn't seem to care then!" Draco began to shout.

"I didn't know how rich you were back then! Do you really think I would have left if I had known?" she realized what she had said right after it escaped her lips. Draco looked shocked.

"You never gave a fuck about me." Realization dawned on him. "I came over here to meet a child I thought I had created with you, because I'm a responsible adult! I didn't want you to have to raise him without any help. I'm with Hermione; we're going to get married one day! I was going to give you some money, to help out with the kid, but you lied to me about _everything_!" Draco started walking to the door. Meria blocked him.

"Don't you see, Draco? We can be together now! No responsibilities! We will have money for the rest of our lives and we can even have children together one day if you want!" Meria threw herself on him, tumbling them backwards into the couch. She was crouched on top of him, her knee threatening his very manhood.

"Get off me, Meria. I don't want this anymore. You're a lying, scheming bitch…" Draco spat.

"Yeah… I like it when you talk dirty to me, baby…"Meria forced her lips on him, just as the front door flew open. Hermione had cursed it open, and stood in the frame of the doorway, observing everything.

"Hermione! No! It's not what it looks like, baby, please!" Draco cried, trying to get up. Hermione stood still, not expecting to have interrupted something like this. Her mind had gone blank on what she was going to do.

Draco practically threw Meria onto the ground and rushed over to Hermione.

"Draco…" Hermione whispered, looking at the ground.

"No…no…love, please let me explain what happened." Draco begged, trying to put his arms around her. She pushed away.

"_Petrificus Totalus!"_ she cried, causing both Meria and Draco to crash stiffly onto the floor. "I-just need- some time- to- _think_!" Hermione seemed to be close to hyperventilating. She walked around the room slowly, taking deep breaths and practicing some of her relaxation techniques from the birthing books. After a few minutes, she unfroze both Draco and Meria. "You-" she pointed to Meria, "explain." Meria looked extremely nervous.

"Umm… well… I sort of lied about Draco and I having a little boy together." She explained quickly, turning bright red. "He and I dated at Hogwarts, things got mildly serious, and then I left school. My parents transferred me to a school that was closer to home, plus they never approved of the way Dumbledore ran things…" Meria finished.

"Hermione, I came to see Meria because I was going to help her out financially with the baby she _claimed_ we had. I was trying to leave and she threw herself at me, and that's when you walked in…" Draco sounded very stressed, and his eyes were pleading for Hermione to believe him.

"Why would you lie about having a baby with him?" Hermione asked, completely infuriated.

"Because I wanted him back! I didn't think he would come see me if I just told him the truth! I needed to trick him over here to explain everything!" Meria shouted, sounding close to tears.

Just then, a little boy no older than two years wobbled into the room. He was crying, and clutching a blanket.

"Mommy!" he cried, stumbling over to Meria.

Draco looked like he was going to pass out.

"Tyler, sweetie, what are you doing out of bed? Come on, baby, I'll tuck you in. I'm sorry we woke you up." Meria shot everyone a look that meant not to say anything in front of the little boy. She carried the toddler into a room and closed the door a few minutes later.

"What the _fuck_?" Draco whispered at Meria, not wanting to wake the boy again.

"He's not yours, don't worry about it…" Meria brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"Is that why you really left?" Draco asked accusingly. Meria nodded and began crying silently.

"I was scared. I was only _sixteen_ for Merlin's sake!" Meria cried.

"Who's is he?" Draco asked calmly.

"Draco…" Hermione said sharply. They had almost forgotten she was standing there. Draco looked up at her quickly and saw that she was standing in a puddle of what looked like water.

"Oh my God…" Draco breathed. Hermione looked alarmed.

"My water's broken… I need to go to the-the- Hospital," Hermione stuttered. Draco ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her and then disapparated them both with a loud _pop_.

Meria stood, watching everything unfold around her.

"This isn't over, Draco Malfoy…" she spoke quietly.

A/N: Hey everyone! I know it isn't a super long chap, but I thought that was a good place to end it for now! Okay- I also want to do a little poll and see who thinks the baby is going to be a girl? Boy? Twins? _Triplets!_ Let me know what you think! I already have a name picked out for the baby (whatever gender it may be! ), but let me know if you like some names more than others. I will try and update soon now that it's the weekend! Also, in the next chapter, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Blaise will make an appearance, as well as the new grandparents! PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks!

-shesmyfavorite


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I know, I know! I stole the title of my chapter from a song by the Secret Machines, but it fits so perfect! There will also be a little snip of the song's lyrics in this chap as well. Enjoy!

Chapter Ten: Lightning Blue Eyes 

Hermione felt almost like a celebrity the way she was treated at St. Mungo's. People were running around her, making sure she was comfortable, asking if she needed anything. Draco held her hand tightly as she lay in the delivery room, watching her intently as if she would fade away if he turned around and let go of her.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked after a few minutes of being alone.

"I've felt better…" Hermione scrunched up her face in pain as another contraction pierced through her body.

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea to try and do this without any help, love…" Draco said quietly, looking anxious.

"Draco, I don't know how many times I have to tell you-" Hermione let out a small scream of pain, "but I need to do this natural! It's the safest thing to do for the baby…" The Healer came walking in slowly, not looking up from his clipboard.

"Alright, let's have a look at how far you're along, Miss- Granger?" the Healer looked up suddenly. "As in _Hermione_ Granger? Oh Merlin- _and Draco Malfoy_?" The Healer had a look of excitement on his face. "You two are all over the _Daily Prophet_ these days! Who would have guessed I would be the one delivering your much anticipated baby?" He let a howl of mirth escape his lips before settling back down into reality. Draco glared suspiciously at him.

"Is this going to be a problem? Because if it is, I have no qualms towards finding another more _professional_ Healer to carry things out…" Draco stood up slowly, crossing his arms across his chest. He towered a good five inches above the Healer. Before any response could be made, Hermione let out another moan. The Healer quickly moved over to her.

"Do you want a numbing spell, Miss?" he asked quickly. "You're only at three inches dilated, so you have a way to go before we can even start pushing…"

"No-" Hermione breathed, her face contorted with pain. "No- I'm fine…" She screamed again, causing Draco to flinch and hold his hands over his ears.

"You can still have an all natural birth with a numbing spell. It only causes you to go numb while the contractions are going on and while the baby moves down to the birthing position. You can rest during that time so you have more energy during delivery." The Healer explained patiently. Hermione looked interested.

"Fine, fine, that sounds good-" she let out another cry of anguish.

(…)

Draco had gone to send owls to friends about Hermione being in the Hospital while Hermione took a much needed nap. He came back up to the room a half hour later, carrying a bouquet of bright red roses. Hermione woke up and almost started crying at his gesture of kindness. They began talking about names and guessing what the baby would be. Draco had been with Hermione in the delivery room for a few hours, waiting for her to be ready to start pushing when an unexpected surprise came in through the doors. Hermione and Draco looked up to greet the visitor, but found themselves speechless when they saw whom it was.

"M-Mum?" Hermione whispered, her eyes tearing up. Mrs. Granger rushed across the room to her daughter and embraced her.

"Oh, my little girl!" she choked. "I can't let you go through this alone…" Mrs. Granger pulled away and looked nervously over at Draco.

"She's not alone." Draco commented, standing up and reaching out his hand towards her. "Would you like to start over again?" Mrs. Granger glanced at his hand for a second before she decided a hug was more appropriate. Draco looked shocked as Hermione's mother gave him a tight hug.

"I'm very sorry about everything that happened, Draco. If I could take it all back I would…" she started crying again. Draco patted her should awkwardly.

"It's alright, I can't say I blame your reaction much. If I had been in your position, I may well have committed a murder…" Draco laughed nervously. Mrs. Granger gave him a watery smile.

"Where is Dad?" Hermione asked, her voice tight. Mrs. Granger looked at the ground.

"Darling, I'm afraid he's not going to come. He still feels very strongly about everything- you must understand- he's hurting very much…"

"_He's_ hurting?" Hermione looked incredulously at her mother. Just then, everyone turned at the sound of a knock at the door. Draco made his way over to the door and opened it, revealing Narcissa Malfoy. She looked very uptight, clutching her handbag so hard her knuckles were turning white.

"Hello Draco," she spoke coolly, her expression unchanging. "I presume this is the girl?" Narcissa pointed a careless finger at Hermione.

"Mother, what are you doing here? I never sent you an owl…" Draco started.

"I have other ways of finding out information. The birth of the next Malfoy heir is an occasion I am not likely to miss. " Narcissa stepped inside the room and walked briskly over to Hermione to observe her. Hermione held out a timid hand.

"Nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Malfoy…" Hermione spoke quietly. Narcissa did not even glance at her hand before she made a disapproving noise.

"Really, Draco, I wish you had deliberated everything more thoroughly before deciding this was your best option-" Narcissa spat.

"You can leave now, Mother…" Draco clutched her arm gently, but firmly, and led her to the door.

"I'll just wait outside, then…" she spoke airily as a bouncy red-head flew past her into the delivery room.

"Hermione!" Ginny cried, beaming. "I can't believe it's actually time! Am I going to be the god-mother?" Ginny asked, practically dripping with excitement.

"Ginny, we don't even know if it's a boy or girl! Picking out god-parents is pretty low on the totem pole right now…" Hermione laughed. Ginny looked around the room.

"But- where are Harry and Ron?" she asked, her brow furrowed. Ginny read the expression on Hermione's face perfectly. "They don't _know_?" Ginny cried. Hermione shook her head.

"They got so busy with Auror training, and Draco and I became wrapped up in our own life, I just never thought there was a good time to tell them!" Hermione sounded exasperated. Ginny continued to frown and put her hands on her hips.

"Well I'm going to have to go find them, now! Seriously, Hermione- they're your best friends and they don't even know you're _pregnant!_ Why didn't you tell them that night we all went to Pocket's?"

"I didn't know how they were going to react- and besides. It was their night to celebrate. " Hermione said defiantly.

"I hope you have a girl that acts just like you…" Ginny grinned at her before turning to run back out of the room. "Don't start without us! I'll be right back!"

But Hermione was ready to start- or according to her Healer she was. He had come in a few minutes after Ginny had left to inform Hermione she had dilated to the full ten centimeters and was ready to start pushing.

(…)

Harry, Ron, and Ginny burst in just in time to see the baby being born. Hermione was screaming so loudly she could be heard all the way down the hall and around the corner. The sun was starting to rise, casting a warm glow on the tired group of people. Draco was letting Hermione crush his hand as she screamed and pushed, and did not even appear to be in any discomfort at all. He smiled down at her determined face and encouraged her warmly. With one final push, Hermione felt the release of the baby and heard it cry shrilly. The Healer practically screamed in excitement.

"It's a girl! You had a baby girl!" he cried, holding the baby up for Hermione to see. Hermione was sweaty and tired and aching, but could not help but smile genuinely at her new child. The Healer cut her umbilical cord, wrapped her in a blanket and handed her carefully to Draco. The light from the sunrise burst in through the window, lighting up the spot where Draco stood with the baby. She stopped crying and opened her surreal blue eyes to meet Draco's gaze.

In your dreams you've seen it all 

_Through a window so far off_

_Remember watching while your_

_Lightning blue eyes reflected sunrise_

_Through the dawn I'd seen it, too_

_I caught a glimpse I thought was you_

_And I was overwhelmed_

_Lightning blue eyes against the daylight_

Hermione watched Draco hold their baby girl and noticed a singular tear trace it's way down Draco's cheek as he stared in wonder at his child. It would be the first and last time she would ever see him cry. As he continued to hold his baby Hermione knew deep down that his only weakness was going to be that little girl. The whole room was quiet as Draco walked closer to Hermione and crouched down so she could see their daughter. Hermione kissed the tear off his cheek and soaked in her baby's face. She looked like Hermione except for her blonde hair and incredibly bright blue eyes.

"What should we name her?" Draco asked softly. Hermione noticed the bouquet of roses Draco had brought her propped up in the crystal vase, and she suddenly knew.

"Scarlet…" Hermione breathed. "Scarlet Rose…" She looked at Draco. He was watching the baby again.

"Scarlet…" he repeated as he observed the small infant. He smiled before he looked back up into Hermione's eyes. "It's perfect."

(…)

Hermione spent the next day in the hospital, falling more and more in love with Scarlet and Draco. The families and friends had responded well to the little girl, even Narcissa could not hold back her tears as she watched Draco carry the infant out of the room to show off.

When Draco and Hermione were ready to leave the hospital, they were practically attacked by reporters and crowds of people trying to get comments from Draco Malfoy- the best Keeper Puddlemere United has ever known- and Hermione Granger- the Muggle-born witch who stole Draco's heart. People were frantically trying to photograph Scarlet, but Hermione had hidden her beneath a light blanket and was rushing to the waiting car.

Being at home again with Scarlet was a strange adjustment for Hermione and Draco, but not nearly as strange as waking up five times a night to a screaming infant. The couple soon adjusted and the months seemed to fly by as they watched their beautiful daughter grow.

(…)

Two Years Later 

The month was January, and close to Scarlet's second birthday. In the two years since her birth, Hermione and Draco had become closer to each other and their daughter than they even knew possible. Draco had continued to play professional Quidditch, and was promoted to Team Captain. Hermione had wanted more than anything to stay with Scarlet, so she decided to take on a few young children from single parents every day and teach them while their parents worked. Scarlet loved having all the friends around and had blossomed to a very social butterfly. She was fair skinned like her father, with white-blonde locks usually kept up in pigtails. Her face resembled Hermione's very closely; pink lips, smooth jaw line, except for her eyes. Her brilliantly blue eyes were another feature she had gained from Draco. Every time Hermione or Draco took Scarlet out, they were complimented on how beautiful the child was going to be when she grew older. Hermione and Draco would smile and remind people that Scarlet was still only a toddler, and they were enjoying the time they were able to spend with her.

Scarlet's second birthday was going to be the event of the century, Hermione had quoted. All of Scarlet's little friends were invited, as well as Hermione and Draco's adult friends. Little did anyone know, a visitor was planning to come that wasn't invited. Meria hadn't forgotten about how Draco had denied her and left her to raise Tyler without help. She had been biding her time over the past couple of years, waiting for an opportunity to slide back into Draco's life. His daughter's birthday was the perfect event- so many people were going to be there, she would hardly be noticed until it was too late.

A/N: Yay! Another chapter down! I hope you all liked it- it was fun to write! As far as the poll goes- here are the results:

Girl: 1

Boy: 4

Twins: 5

Triplets: 3

Names: Chad, Ian, Damian, Corlath, Joren, Tristan, Domitan, Gabriel, Alyssa, Jade, Senay, Lorelei, Alianne, Sable, Keladry, Jordanne.

WOW! Thanks for all the feedback and guesses! I hope everyone likes what I chose… I noticed in the books, J.K. Rowling uses a lot of flower names (Fleur, Pansy, Lily, Petunia, Poppy, etc.) Weird, huh? Well, I will be posting again soon! Sorry for not much Ginny/Blaise action, but there will be some major action in the next chap- I already have it planned out! Please review!

-shesmyfavorite


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: A Party and An Envelope**

"Draco!" Hermione shouted down the staircase in frustration and barely controlled panic. She was clutching the back of her pink dress desperately, unable to zip it any further up by herself. Draco peeked his head around the corner and Scarlet mimicked him with wide eyes.

"What Mommy?" Scarlet raised her arms in an innocent gesture and gave Hermione the cutest puppy-dog face she could muster up.

"Yeah, what Mommy?" Draco mimed, smiling up at his agitated significant other. Hermione lost her annoyed mood and laughed at the two of them.

"Darling, don't teach her that face…" Hermione pointed at Scarlet. Draco observed his daughter with his hands on his hips for dramatics.

"A true Malfoy, this one is," Draco decided. Scarlet squealed in delight and hugged her daddy's legs.

"Mommy, I wanna wear my gween dwess!" Scarlet pushed away from Draco suddenly and began climbing the stairs towards Hermione.

"Sweetie, don't you want to wait until it's a little closer to when your party starts?" Hermione questioned, as she pulled her daughter off the ground and into her arms. Scarlet threw her arms around Hermione's neck and giggled. The dress was a lost cause, Hermione decided.

"Nope! Daddy said I will be the Switherin pwincess today!" Scarlet announced happily.

"Switherin, huh? What about the _Gryffindor _princess?" Hermione tickled her soundly before setting her back onto the ground.

"Hermione, did you need something, love, or did you just miss me?" Draco raised an eyebrow at her, still smirking.

"Never mind, I'll change into something less complicated. Scarlet, why don't you help Daddy blow up balloons, okay?" Scarlet's eyes lit up at that idea and she rushed down the stairs so quickly, she lost her balance and almost began to tumble before Draco whipped out his want and levitated her in the air.

"Whoops, careful baby! You don't want to break anything on your _second birthday_!" Draco hovered her in the air around the room for a few seconds, listening to her shriek with happiness before he let her fall into his arms. "Let's get going before Mommy makes us do any more work!" Scarlet nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

(…)

An hour before the birthday party was scheduled to begin, the doorbell rang unexpectedly. Hermione groaned and rushed downstairs, her hair halfway fixed and her make-up partially on. When she opened the large front door, Ginny Weasley and Blaise Zabini stood on the front porch with wide grins across their faces. Ginny was the first to react and attacked Hermione with a bear hug.

"You're never going to believe what we did!" Ginny practically screamed. Hermione looked nervously from Ginny to Blaise.

"Umm, I give up?" she responded meekly. Ginny held out her left hand triumphantly to expose a large diamond ring on her ring finger.

"We eloped!" Ginny squeaked loudly, practically beaming. Hermione mildly wondered how someone so tiny could make so much noise. Hermione wasn't quite sure what to say, so she just stood there, her mouth hanging open and gaping at the large diamond ring.

"I had been trying to talk to Arthur and Molly about it for months, but they always told me they wanted Ginny to wait until she was at least twenty-five before she ever even _started_ thinking about marriage…" Blaise scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he explained. Draco came pelting around the corner.

"You're _married!_" Draco asked in shock. There was an increasingly loud wail coming from around the same corner that Draco had just emerged from. Scarlet came sprinting through as quick as her little feet could take her. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were blotchy. She held out her index finger from her left hand pitifully.

"Owwww!" she cried miserably, closing her eyes and tilting her head toward the ceiling. There seemed to be a tiny cut on the pad of her finger. Suddenly she seemed to notice that there were visitors and forgot about her finger. "Awe you here for my pawty? Did you bwing pwesents?" She perked up quickly when Ginny handed her two wrapped boxes. "I'm thwee now!" She smiled proudly.

"Scarlet, honey, you're turning _two_…" Hermione reminded her gently, inspecting her finger carefully. "I think you're going to be okay. Do you think you'll survive?" Scarlet nodded her head solemnly. Scarlet scampered back off to play, carrying her two new presents to put on the table.

"So, anyway, when did all _this_ happen?" Draco asked, patting Blaise on the back and glancing at Ginny's ring.

"Two days ago!" Ginny beamed some more. "We already told the family- they were kind of upset…" Ginny's face suddenly fell.

"Does Harry know?" Hermione asked quietly, knowing Ginny had been infatuated with him for a long time.

"Ron told him yesterday. He took it pretty well. Apparently he's been dating some cute blonde who works for _Witch's Weekly_." Blaise explained. Hermione leaned in and gave Ginny another hug.

"I'm so happy for you both! This is very exciting news!" Hermione gushed.

"We were going to announce it at Scarlet's birthday, but we figured it was rude to take away from her special day." Ginny informed them.

"Speaking of her birthday, do you want to come chat with me while I continue getting ready? Blaise can go out with Draco and Scarlet and help them…" Hermione smiled and tugged at Ginny's arm to lead her up the stairs.

(…)

The party was going extremely well, and almost everyone Hermione had sent invitations to showed up. Scarlet was running around happily with all her friends and sharing her toys. Narcissa Malfoy even made a brief appearance to deliver Scarlet's present, but left shortly after due to the 'loud, obnoxious half-bloods and mudbloods'. While everyone was chatting and enjoying the warmth inside Draco and Hermione's home, no one noticed a singular woman with her small child enter the house. The little boy could not have been any older than three or four, and he made his way quietly to the table where Scarlet's mountain of unwrapped presents lay to set down a small piece of paper. The boy hurried away from the table, looking embarrassed and soon joined Scarlet and her friends in play.

Meria was trying her best to not be caught by Draco or Hermione. She made her way stealthily across the large living room and to the bottom of the staircase before anyone even spoke to her. Meria quickly made up a lie about knowing Hermione from school and proceeded to walk up the stairs to Draco and Hermione's bedroom. Once she was safely inside the room, she set down a plain black envelope on the dresser. Hearing someone announce it was time to open presents downstairs, Meria chose not to dawdle upstairs any longer and snuck back down to blend in with the large crowd.

Scarlet had opened all her presents and thought she was done until Hermione noticed a small piece of paper folded in half on the edge of the table.

"Here, darling, it looks like a card fell out somewhere along the way…" Hermione handed her daughter the card. Scarlet opened it quickly and had a blank look on her face for a few seconds. Suddenly, she threw the card in the air and ran over to Tyler, who was blushing a bright shade of red. Scarlet threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek quickly.

"Thank you, Tyleh!" Scarlet spoke, still smiling brightly. Confused, Hermione picked up the card and saw a hand drawn picture of a little girl with bright blue eyes and blonde pigtails. He had drawn a picture of Scarlet for her birthday without Meria knowing. Hermione held back the tears that began to form, and handed the card over to Draco who smiled softly.

"Wait-" Draco said suddenly to Hermione. "How the hell did Tyler get here?" Hermione looked bewildered.

"Oh my God… Meria got in?" Hermione whispered, looking slightly alarmed. Before either one of them could do anything, Meria swooped in, picking Tyler up and hurrying towards the door. And then she was gone. Hermione and Draco looked at one another suspiciously. No one else at the party had noticed anything odd, not knowing the history behind Meria.

"We'll deal with that later… no harm appears to have been done for now…" Draco put his finger gingerly over Hermione's lips, as she was about to say something rude and loud.

(…)

After the party was completely over and Scarlet was in bed, Hermione and Draco plopped down on their large bed together in a state of extreme exhaustion.

"Whew… I can't believe we have to do that every year…" Hermione moaned, rubbing her temples. Draco began to massage circles on her back to help relax her.

"You know… it's been bothering me this whole day about Ginny and Blaise," Draco started to speak.

"What's bothering you about it?" Hermione questioned, kissing him in response to the quick massage.

"Well, it's just, we haven't even talking about marriage since before Scarlet was born…" Draco spoke quietly, looking at his hands. He heard Hermione fidget.

"You're right. I don't want you to think that I don't want to marry you, Draco. I didn't- not right before Scarlet was born because it would have been almost a sympathy marriage. But now, I don't know… I feel differently." Hermione moved closer to him and sat in his lap. Draco smirked at her.

"So you would say yes if I asked you to marry me right now?"

"I didn't say that! I guess you will just have to ask me to find out…" Hermione said playfully. "Besides, you don't even have a ring or anything!" Draco stood up suddenly, almost causing Hermione to plummet to the floor. He walked briskly over to his side of the bed and opened the nightstand. Hermione gasped as she saw him pull out a small black velvet box.

"I didn't know you-" Hermione started.

"Hermione, I have been with you through some of the happiest days of my life, as well as some of the hardest. Despite everything, you have remained the one constant thing in my life, which means more to me than anything in the world- except maybe our daughter." Draco smirked at that last comment. Hermione's eyes welled up with tears. "I love you _so much_ I can't show you any other way than to ask you to spend the rest of your life with me. Will you marry me, love?" Draco was on one knee at this point and had opened the box to reveal a sparkling heart-shaped diamond that was close to three carats. It was simple in shape, but beautiful all the same. Hermione fell onto her knees and through her arms around his neck, sobbing with joy.

"I can't believe it!" she cried, kissing his neck and skin wherever she could. "I love you so much, Draco! I wouldn't want to be with anyone but you!" Draco smirked.

"That's a yes, then?" he asked happily, taking the ring out of the box.

"That's a _hell_ yes…" Hermione laughed, her eyes still streaming with tears. Draco picked up her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger. He kissed her finger, then her cheek, then her lips. Before either one of them registered what had happened in between, they were both naked and on the bed.

Draco pushed inside her carefully, groaning with pleasure. Before he had a chance to start thrusting into her, Hermione arched her back upwards and pushed Draco deeper inside. They both gasped with the sudden bliss and began rocking with steady rhythm. Draco leaned down and slid his tongue over her right nipple, causing Hermione to let out a tiny yelp. In response to his action, Hermione flexed her inner muscles, causing Draco to let out a loud growl of pleasure from the sudden tightness. Hermione felt herself reaching her peak quickly, which made Draco pump faster and faster to give her the most intense sensation he could. Right when Draco didn't think he could possibly hold off any longer, Hermione orgasmed, causing Draco to follow suit. They lay next to one another, panting heavily and covered in a thin film of sweat. Hermione rolled over to face Draco. His hair was fluffed out and looked like he had just driven down the road in a convertible.

"Let's do that more often…" she gasped.

"Don't have to ask me twice!" Draco hopped back on top of her for round two.

(…)

The next day, Ginny owled Hermione and Draco to see if they would be able to help move her belongings to Blaise's house. Hermione arranged for Mrs. Granger to come over and watch Scarlet for a few hours so she and Draco would be free to help their friends.

"Thanks so much for coming!" Ginny greeted Hermione and Draco right after they apparated over.

"Grab your wand and I'll show you where the car is…." Blaise motioned for Hermione and Draco.

"Blaise, let them say hello at least before you start making them do manual labor…"Ginny lectured. Blaise sighed.

"How's it going, then?" Blaise asked, looking bored. Hermione beamed and held out her hand.

"We got engaged!" she cried. Ginny screamed and threw the box she was holding behind her. There was a loud shattering noise as it collided with a wall, causing Blaise to flinch and look nervous. Ginny didn't appear to care and embraced Hermione tightly.

"That is incredible news! We're going to be happy little married couple friends!" Ginny gushed happily. Blaise had wandered off to the box Ginny had chucked practically across the room.

"Honey, where is the family china?" Blaise called frantically. Ginny ignored him.

"So, tell me everything! How did he do it? Was it because of Blaise and me?" Ginny was absolutely giddy. Hermione was a light shade of pink as she proceeded to tell Ginny everything that happened right up until she and Draco shagged for hours. Meanwhile, Blaise and Draco had opened the box to find out that Ginny had in fact hurled priceless heirlooms into a wall. Blaise made an odd noise, something in between a helpless cry and a roar.

"What is the matter with you?" Ginny suddenly turned her attention to Blaise, who looked crushed.

"You smashed my grandmother's plates into a million pieces, that's what's wrong with me!" Blaise cried, throwing his hands in the air.

"Hey, I think we can fix this. Look- _Reparo!_" Draco pointed his wand at the pile of shattered china on the floor. The plates went back together, but in all the wrong places. They now looked like an arts and crafts project gone terribly wrong.

The rest of the day did not go as smoothly as everyone would have liked it to. Many items were smashed, dropped, or tossed too carelessly into the car. Blaise looked like he was going to have a heart attack by the end of everything.

"I don't know why he's so uptight, most of this stuff is mine anyway…" Ginny mumbled to Hermione when Blaise wasn't paying attention.

"Why did you have his grandmother's china?" Hermione asked curiously. Ginny shrugged.

"Who knows. All our stuff kind of blended together over the past few months. We've practically been living together since August…"

"Well, thanks for helping us with everything today…" Blaise finally spoke, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Ginny wrapped her arms around his torso.

"I'm sorry I smashed your plates. I got very excited…" Ginny apologized to him. Blaise smiled down at her.

"It's okay… I didn't really like them that much anyway."

"Where they worth a lot?" Ginny questioned. Blaise paled slightly.

"Nah…" he kissed her forehead. "Just a little more than you… but hey… you win some you lose some…" Blaise gave a good impression of a Draco-like smirk. Ginny punched his arm.

"We're going to head home- see you guys later!" Hermione waved at them as she and Draco apparated back home.

A/N: Hey everyone! I thought I would answer some questions in this chapter that I got from a couple reviews. So- no, Draco and Hermione aren't married yet (but they will be soon!) Also, I'm sorry I left such a gap after Scarlet was born, but I didn't have anything planned for while she was growing up, so I didn't want to waste time. Kids are really fun while they are toddlers, so I wanted to jump ahead so she could be a bigger part of the story. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story! For next chapter you will find out what is in the black envelope that Meria left- and why she left it! Also- Meria only wanted Draco back because he became famous playing Quidditch. She tried to trick him into giving her money by lying and saying that Tyler was his son… that's why she was upset after he found out everything- her plans were ruined! I hope all this answers some of your questions and please review- I love your feedback!

P.S. My engagement ring is heart-shaped diamond- that's where I got the idea! Mine isn't quite as big as Hermione's though. Three carats worth of diamonds is worth more than my car. LOL!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Tyler's Father**

Scarlet had decided it was time to wake up around six thirty in the morning the day after Hermione and Draco helped Ginny and Blaise move. Draco began to stir when he heard the familiar pitter-patter of two tiny feet entering the room. He sat up groggily and smiled at his small toddler.

"What's up Scuttle-bee?" Draco called her by her nickname. Scarlet smiled brightly, dragging her pink blanket alongside her.

"I'm hungwy-" she stated matter of factly. Draco slipped his feet on the ground, being extra quiet not to wake Hermione.

"Alright, I'll go make you some breakfast. What sounds good, huh?" Draco picked her up and tossed her onto his shoulders. Scarlet giggled and wrapped her arms around his face, making it slightly difficult for him to navigate. Being half blinded by his daughter, Draco walked right past the envelope lying on the dresser.

"Ice cweam!" Scarlet cried happily. Draco shot a nervous glance at Hermione as he hurried Scarlet out of the room.

"Your mother would kill me if she knew I fed you ice cream for breakfast!" Draco whispered to Scarlet. "Don't tell her unless you want Daddy to get in lots of trouble…"

"But it's yummy…" Scarlet looked crestfallen. Draco felt a pang in his chest; he hated to see her sad.

"How about chocolate chip pancakes? Malfoy style…" Draco smirked when Scarlet practically shrieked in excitement. It didn't hold much nutritional value, but Hermione didn't know wouldn't kill her. Especially if it was just breakfast.

A little while later, after all the dishes had been cleaned off and put back on the shelf, Hermione made her way down into the kitchen. Draco kissed her soundly and offered her a mug of coffee.

"Good morning sunshine…" Draco teased her, ruffling her bird's nest-like hair. Hermione scrunched up her face in disapproval, but then gave in to a large yawn.

"Daddy made pancakes!" Scarlet announced, standing on her chair. Draco hastily pulled her off the chair.

"Whoa, whoa, don't over load Mommy too early in the morning…" Draco laughed nervously, casting nervous looks at Hermione.

"Yes, I know. Chocolate chip ones, if I'm not mistaken?" Hermione smirked at the look on Draco's face. "I was half awake when you tried to bribe our daughter with pancakes instead of ice cream…" Draco checked his watch suddenly.

"Well, I should probably get heading off pretty soon! We have an early practice today that starts in… fifteen minutes!" Draco jumped out of his chair and rushed to the broom closet by the front door.

"Bye Daddy!" Scarlet ran after him and hugged his knees. Draco pulled her up to his face level and kissed her nose.

"Bye Scuttle-bee! Be good for Mommy- I'll be home around noon." Draco set Scarlet back on the ground and apparated to practice.

(…)

Draco had been gone an hour, and Hermione decided to take a shower while Scarlet dozed in her bed. She knew Scarlet would only be asleep for thirty minutes max, so this was her only opportunity. As Hermione made her way into the bedroom, she hummed a popular tune and traced the wall absentmindedly with the tips of her fingers. She ran her fingers down the dresser and was about to open one of the drawers to find clean clothes to wear for after her shower when she noticed something odd.

_What is this envelope?_

Hermione picked it up gingerly and inspected it. There was nothing unusual about it at all; it was a plain black envelope the size of a textbook. No names were written on it, causing Hermione to wonder if it was put here mistakenly. She was about to set it back on the dresser when she felt curiosity tug at her stomach playfully. It was in _her_ home after all. Besides, she and Draco didn't keep any secrets.

Opening the envelope carefully, Hermione had the distinct feeling that something was wrong. A mixture of parchment and photographs fell out of the envelope and onto the floor. Hermione crouched and began to sort through them when suddenly her stomach lurched painfully.

The pieces of parchment were all letters addressed to Meria in Draco's handwriting.

_Meria, _

_I'm kicking all the guys out of the dormitory tonight if you want to come over- we would have the whole place to ourselves. Not suggesting anything- but I'll get one of the house elves to bring us some firewhisky. It may take some convincing, but that's what wands are for, right? Write me back when you get this._

_-Draco_

_Meria-_

_Everytime I'm around you it's like a high. I can still remember the way you smell and feel and taste. You taste so good. I want to see you again. _

_Draco_

_Meria-_

Why did you leave? Where did you go? Did I do something wrong? I miss you so much, I can't breathe when I start thinking about everything. I told you I loved you and I wanted to be with you- you said the same! Why did you leave? Please write back…

Draco

The letters continued. Hermione's eyes started to water and she felt jealously awaken inside her. She read through the letters, each one displaying Draco's love for another mind, another body, another girl. Hermione suddenly began to wonder if it was possible to get over someone after loving them this much. Setting the letters aside, Hermione began to inspect the photographs.

The first she looked at was a normal picture of Draco and Meria, with Draco's arm slung across her shoulders, his other arm resting high on her thigh. Too high, Hermione thought bitterly. They were smiling happily at the camera, then looking at each other and kissing deeply.

The second photograph was obviously taken at a very intimate time. It made Hermione feel sick to her stomach to look at it. She could see Meria lying underneath a thin white blanket, obviously naked. Draco's arm came into the picture from behind the camera and snatched the blanket off the girl, exposing her breasts for a few seconds. Meria scrambled to find the covers again, looking embarrassed but laughing all the same.

The third picture was the hardest thing for Hermione to look at. Draco and Meria were sitting in the Great Hall, very close to one another. Draco kissed her neck seductively and she eyed him up and down. Right then, Hermione came into view and walked in front of them for a fleeting second, not even acknowledging the camera. Draco hopped off his chair and mimicked her walk and face cruelly, causing Meria to shriek in laughter.

Hermione tossed everything back into the envelope and began to cry. It was all just a reminder of how mean Draco had been to her at school and how much he had loved Meria.

Why is she doing this to us? Hermione thought desperately. There is no reason for her to continue torturing us like this. Draco isn't Tyler's father, so what more could she want from him?

Anger boiled inside Hermione, causing her to think irrationally. Pulling her hair into a loose ponytail, Hermione walked into Scarlet's room and woke her gently from her slumber.

"Hey sleepy head! Want to play with Miss Ginny today?" Hermione asked her softly, trying to hide the anger and hurt in her voice. Scarlet nodded sleepily. "Okay, I'm going to go call her real fast. Want to come get a glass of juice while I do that?" Scarlet nodded silently again. Hermione held her daughter's hand and made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Pouring a glass of juice and dialing her best friend's cell phone number, Hermione tried counting to ten to calm her nerves. Before leaving, Hermione had a quick thought and ran to the potion ingredient cabinet she and Draco kept locked and took out a small bottle full of liquid.

(…)

After Ginny was stationed at Hermione and Draco's house to watch over Scarlet, Hermione promised to fill Ginny in on everything after she was back. Without a moment's hesitation, Hermione apparated to outside Meria's flat. Before knocking on the door, Hermione tried a few more relaxation techniques. Coming to the conclusion that she was not going to relax herself anytime soon, Hermione sucked it up and knocked on the door.

Meria opened the door after several seconds of leaving Hermione waiting outside.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. The future Mrs. Malfoy…" Meria spat bitterly. Hermione glared at her.

"Is your son here?" Hermione tried to speak calmly. "Because I think it would be best if you and I tried to work this out alone."

"Yeah, Tyler's in his room and he won't be leaving. He'll be fine." Meria opened the door slightly wider, allowing Hermione to enter. Hermione stepped inside quickly and spotted an open glass on the table.

"May I have a glass of water while we…erm… talk?" Hermione tried again to speak calmly. She mildly wondered if she was as good of an actress as she was trying to be. Meria slowly made her way into the kitchen, saying nothing to Hermione. Taking her chances, Hermione rushed quickly over to Meria's drink and poured in a few drops of the bottled liquid. Glancing up quickly, Hermione saw Meria was almost done filling up a glass with water.

Sitting blandly across the table from Meria, Hermione took a big gulp of water. Meria lifted her own glass daintily off the table and sipped it for a few seconds, unflinching. Hermione smiled and relief coursed through her body.

"Why did you leave the pictures and letters at our house?" Hermione asked, feeling calmer.

"To stir up tension and trouble between you and Draco," Meria answered honestly, looking shocked with herself.

"Why do you want to do that?" Hermione questioned.

"Because I want Draco to leave you for me and help raise Tyler. Draco has a lot of money and would be able to give me the lifestyle I deserve. Oh and I guess my son deserves a father in his life, and Draco just happens to be the one I choose for my son." Meria explained.

"Why do you choose Draco? What happened to Tyler's real father?" Hermione asked. Meria looked nervous, but spoke anyway.

"I didn't know who to go to besides him. I feel like it is his responsibility and his duty to me because Tyler's father is dead."

"Do you even care about your son's needs at all or is this just some twisted revenge scheme you have going on in your head?" Hermione's voice rose.

"I care about getting what is rightfully mine! I want to be rich like I was promised! I was tricked, lied to! If I had thought I was going to have to do this all on my own with no help or money I would never have had him!" Meria shrieked. Hermione looked around wildly, but Tyler never emerged from his room.

"Shut up!" Hermione demanded. "You are a mother! How can you say such horrid things about your only child?"

"Because I only had him to secure an inheritance I should have received! I don't even like children! This was not what I signed up for! I want my money!" Meria cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Inheritance?" Hermione asked. Meria nodded, sobs shaking her body. Hermione glared slightly at the frail girl. "Meria, who is Tyler's real father?" Meria looked up at Hermione suddenly and clasped her hands over her mouth, muffling the response. "Meria, who is Tyler's real father?" Hermione asked again, more forcefully. Meria looked beaten as she quietly muttered the response.

"Lucius Malfoy."

A/N: DUN DUN DUN! LUCIUS! I hope you guys enjoyed this update! I will post again soon, hopefully! Thank you so much for all my reviewers- I really appreciate it! You guys always put a smile on my face! I apologize for not being able to reply personally to each review, but I have been really busy lately with school and I just haven't had the time… sorry… Oh and also thank you for all the engagement congrats! Chris and I have been engaged for almost two years already, and we still have another year and a half to go… we're waiting till I graduate college. Blah. That right there was ALL my parent's doing. Okay, well PLEASE REVIEW and I'll post soon!

-shesmyfavorite


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Aunt Cissy?**

Hermione stared at Meria in a state of confusion and shock. Meria looked extremely frightened and lunged suddenly at Hermione, grasping her hands desperately.

"_Please_ Hermione, you mustn't say anything to Draco!" Meria pleaded. Hermione backed away from her slowly, still unsure of what to do. Meria's body began to shake with sobs as Hermione turned for the door. "No-no-no…" Meria moaned softly, reaching out to hold Hermione again.

"I- I can't-" Hermione's eyes were wide as she spoke. "Draco deserves to know…" and without another word, Hermione apparated with a loud _pop_.

Draco was rather surprised to see Hermione jogging across the Quidditch pitch towards him. Excitement was starting to bubble inside him until he saw the look on her face. Hermione finally reached him and grasped onto his biceps, panting heavily.

"You have to come with me right now…" she said as quietly as she could. Most of the team had stopped to look at the two of them- an unpleasant reminder of their first encounter since Hogwarts. Draco's eyes were filled with concern as he looked her over.

"What's wrong? Is Scarlet alright?" he asked briskly, taking hold of her hand and pacing out of the pitch.

"Yes, she's fine. It's about Meria…" Hermione started to explain but Draco stopped abruptly.

"You went to see her _alone_?" he asked incredulously. "Do you realize you could have gotten yourself seriously hurt or killed? She's crazy, 'Mione!"

"It's a long story, Draco!" Hermione shot defensively. "But right now we have to apparate back over to her flat… something is terribly out of place…" Hermione had tugged his arm so that they were pacing once again. They reached the designated apparation point and disappeared.

Meria was on the floor crying when both Hermione and Draco entered her flat. Tyler was sitting next to her, wiping her hair out of her face and crying. A look of intense fear crossed his face when Draco and Hermione opened the door.

"Leave her alone! She never did anything to you!" Tyler screamed and lunged towards the couple. Draco crouched down and countered his attack with an embrace. Tyler was hitting and kicking and screaming at Draco, but Draco only held him tighter and rubbed his back softly. After a few moments, Tyler relaxed into Draco's arms and was hiccupping slightly as he wiped away his tear stained cheeks. Meria had stopped crying, but still sat meekly on the floor. Hermione knew there was only a modest amount of time before the Veritaserum wore off, so she quickly got to the point.

"You need to tell Draco about Tyler…" Hermione began slowly. Draco let go of Tyler and stood up slowly, confused.

"What about him?" Draco asked, his brow furrowed. Meria looked as though she was going to start crying again. She shook her head, her lips clamped shut.

"Meria, don't make me ask again…" Hermione sighed heavily. With a look of deep regret, Meria looked up at Draco.

"It's the whole reason I had Tyler to begin with. To inherit the famous Malfoy fortune- or at least part of it. It was promised to me, Draco…" Meria stood up with an air of defiance.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Draco spat, his eyes flaring in anger. Meria smirked slightly.

"Lucius never told you about your younger brother, did he?" Draco eyed Tyler quickly.

"That's impossible…" he shook his head, laughing nervously.

"Lucius promised me if I had his child I would be the sole recipient of all his money. So, I had Tyler. That's all there is to it…"

"My father was a lot of horrible things, but he was never unfaithful to my mother- you're lying!" Draco shouted. Hermione clutched his arm in support and stroked it gently.

"Why would Lucius promise you anything?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"Because Draco was a traitor! He was never loyal to the Dark Lord and Lucius knew! The only way to take the fortune away from Draco was to have another son to inherit it!" Meria had a crazed look in her eyes as she ruffled through a dingy picture album on the end table. She ripped a picture of the album and thrust it at Draco. "Here! Do you need more proof?"

The picture was of Lucius Malfoy holding a small infant and smiling in delight. Meria came into the picture and kissed Lucius deeply on the lips.

Draco threw the picture on the floor in disgust.

"You're a whore!" Draco cried. "This happened while we were together, didn't it?"

"I guess I know how to play my cards right…" Meria sneered. Draco let out an anguished roar.

"That's so fucking sick! Who the fuck does that!" Draco demanded. Meria gave him a look of contempt. Tyler began tugging at her shirt nervously, but Meria ignored it.

"What do you want from us?" Hermione asked softly.

" I want Draco. I want him to leave you and your dirty-blood daughter to help me raise Tyler! It's his fucking obligation now! Draco owes this to his father and his family!" Meria screamed. Draco was suddenly dangerously close to her.

" I don't owe my father _anything_. Never say that again…" he whispered in a deadly voice. Meria's face screwed up in anger and she grabbed Tyler's arm viciously.

"Well then what's the point in keeping him around, huh? I don't have anything to gain anymore!" She cried as she pointed her wand at Tyler, practically in hysterics.

"NO!" Hermione and Draco both shouted and lunged towards the young child. Meria's mouth had opened, ready to curse her defenseless young child. Out of nowhere, a Ministry official came bursting into the flat and disarmed the crazed girl. Meria fell into a sobbing heap on the floor as Hermione grabbed Tyler and quickly carried him outside. Meria's wand was snapped in half as the officials charged her with attempted murder and shipped her off to Azkaban to await trial.

"How did they know?" Hermione asked Draco softly as she shifted Tyler's weight from her left to right side.

"I'm not sure… maybe it's similar to the way they know if someone has performed illegal magic underage. They can sense it or something…" Draco shrugged.

"It seems like they would have been visiting Harry a lot if they can sense underage wizards are being maltreated…" Hermione muttered, looking distressed.

A man approached Hermione and Draco slowly, looking at Tyler sadly.

"Is this the little boy involved in the incident?" he asked quietly. Hermione and Draco nodded. "Okay, well he is going to be transferred over to the closest relative's care…" Draco and Hermione exchanged looks.

"I believe that would be us…" Draco answered. The man nodded quickly and walked off to converse with another official who had showed up. They both walked back over to Hermione and Draco, their expressions grim.

"You are Mr. Draco Malfoy?" the first man asked.

"I am."

"Well, Tyler legally will be placed in the care of the closest relative alive, which happens to be Narcissa Malfoy…"

(…)

Draco and Hermione both had bad feelings about how Narcissa was going to react to motherhood all over again. They were extremely surprised when she welcomed them warmly into her home and hugged Tyler tightly. Tyler gave her a weak smile and fidgeted awkwardly.

"Hello Tyler, my name is Narcissa, but you may call me Aunt Cissy if you like. Or Mum would be fine as well. Whatever you are most comfortable with…" and for the first time ever, Hermione saw Narcissa give a warm smile.

"Aunt Cissy?" Tyler asked squeakily.

"Yes, dear?" Narcissa responded, still smiling.

"Can I have a glass of juice- please?"

Hermione moved to get him the glass of juice as Narcissa asked him if he would like to see his new room. Draco followed Hermione into the kitchen.

"What the hell?" Draco asked suddenly when he and Hermione were alone.

"I know… something really strange is going on…" Hermione responded quietly.

"Maybe he's the son she never had…" Draco spat viciously.

"Don't be silly! She loves you more than anything. But, do you think I should go pick up Scarlet to ease Tyler's mind from everything? I mean, they played very well together at the party…" Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's torso and gazed into his eyes.

"Yeah… that would probably be a good idea… I just can't believe everything still… it's too surreal…" Draco's voice trailed off.

(…)

Hermione had traveled back home to get Scarlet when Narcissa came back downstairs to speak with Draco.

"What is going on?" Draco asked her fiercely. Narcissa merely sighed.

"Darling, your father and I were not exactly the perfect couple. Both of us were unfaithful throughout our marriage. You were never meant to find out about it, dear, but things were not as they seemed." Narcissa took her son's hand lightly.

"You always acted fine around each other- how could you both know and stay civil?" Draco choked.

"It's just the way we worked, honey. I can't explain it. There is no good excuse! Our marriage was unconventional and rocky. I'm actually surprised there aren't more children running around…" Narcissa accepted a glass of wine from a house elf and sipped it daintily. Draco looked at her in awe.

"So you're just going to accept everything? Just like that?" he asked, almost accusingly. Narcissa eyed him coldly.

"I don't expect you to understand, Draco. You just have to believe me that things happened for a reason. And yes, I'm just going to accept everything _just like that_ because this child needs a parent. I'm lonely in the big manor by myself. A child will fill the growing void in my life…"

"I just can't believe it…" Draco shook his head.

At that moment, Hermione and Scarlet appeared in the living room, signaling the conversation had to come to a close.

(…)

Later that night, after Scarlet went to bed, Hermione and Draco were still disturbed by the events of the day. Hermione had almost forgotten about the envelope that had stirred all the trouble up. She eyed it warily, mentally battling with herself to decide whether or not to tell Draco about it.

Right then, Draco plopped down on the bed and put his hands over his head as he yawned loudly.

"Just- promise me you'll never keep any secrets from me, okay love?" Draco asked, smiling at Hermione lovingly. Her mind was made up.

"I promise…" Hermione smiled back at him and crawled into bed.

A/N: Hello everyone! So sorry it took so long for me to post! I'm going to be on a trip in a couple of weeks, so I'm going to try and post at least a few more chaps before I go (because I may be gone for up to 2 weeks). I hope you all are enjoying the story and please REVIEW!

-shesmyfavorite


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: More Secrets?**

"Well, you're technically _not_ keeping any secrets from him!" Ginny reassured her the next day. Hermione shrugged sadly.

"I don't know why I didn't just tell him last night, Gin. It's not like he would have been upset with me or anything. It's not my fault Meria decided to leave all those pictures there. I kind of don't want him to know that _I _know about his and Meria's past." Ginny narrowed her eyes at her best friend.

"You're not making any sense, 'Mione. The fact is you didn't know what to say last night, so you just didn't say anything at all. Now you have a bigger problem on your hands, because Draco's going to think you were keeping it from him for a reason. " Hermione groaned out loud at Ginny's words.

"I know, I know…" Hermione glanced at her watch casually. "Oh, crap. Draco's going to be home any minute- I should probably kick you out so I can talk to him about everything…" Ginny got up from her chair slowly and smiled at Hermione.

"Just get it over with and don't stress about it." The two girls hugged goodbye and Ginny apparated home.

Hermione strolled upstairs to check on Scarlet, who was sleeping soundly. After kissing her daughter's forehead softly, Hermione made her way back downstairs just as Draco opened the front door.

"Hey beautiful-" Draco tossed his broom in the closet and glanced up at Hermione. She smiled warmly at him.

"How was practice?" she asked as his arms snaked around her. He kissed her deeply, letting his hands roam. After a few blissful seconds, they parted lips.

"Hard and long-" Draco stopped himself abruptly and burst out laughing. Hermione cracked a smile at first, but his laughter was contagious and she too ended up in side-splitting hysterics.

"Hmm, do you fancy show and tell?" Hermione questioned him seductively after the laughter subsided. Her hands made their way south past his bellybutton. Draco inhaled sharply as she gripped onto him tightly.

"I was always a hands-on learner, myself…" he grinned at her before attacking her lips with his own. They stumbled clumsily up to their bedroom, their lips never unlocking for more than a few seconds the entire way. Articles of clothing littered the staircase and the hallway down to their bedroom. By the time they were safely in their room, only underwear remained. Draco whipped his boxers off in a flash and looked at Hermione expectantly. The bra she wore held her breasts so that a small bit of cleavage formed. It was a white bra with matching lace across the front of it for an innocent- sexy look. Her panties were the tiniest boy shorts Draco had ever seen, and were thin white lace- not quite enough to see clearly what was underneath, but enough to give him a pretty good idea. She smirked at him and sauntered over to the bed slowly.

"Why don't you take a seat, love?" she asked innocently, patting the bed beside her. Draco eyed her suspiciously, but something in his gut told him this was an opportunity not to pass by.

"Will you be joining me?" Draco asked quietly as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. Hermione smirked again.

"Eventually…" she turned away and took a few steps back from him. Her back to him, she leaned over slowly, torturously and then pulled herself back up to a standing position. Draco cleared his throat.

"Remember earlier how I said I was a hands on learner?" Hermione said nothing.

Somewhere in the room, music started playing. The beat was slow and sensual, but had a good rhythm to it. Hermione put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes to feel the music. Her hips swung in synchronization with the heavy beat and Draco's mouth started to go dry as he watched her. He mildly wondered if it was possible for his penis to explode from too much arousal, but his thoughts were interrupted when Hermione's hand slipped behind her back and unclasped her bra. She covered her breasts with one arm as she held the bra in her other. Hermione had opened her eyes and smiled inwardly at the look on Draco's face.

_ He looks like he might fall right off the bed…_ Hermione thought.

Tossing the bra at Draco, Hermione let her arm fall and uncover her breasts. She continued to move with the music, all the time inching slowly closer to Draco. When she was only a few feet away from him she shimmied out of her panties and left them on the floor.

"Enough of this…" Draco stood up quickly, warding off Hermione's protests. He grabbed her and tossed her onto the bed.

"Did you like it, baby?" Hermione whispered when he was on top of her. Draco plunged inside her, unable to answer her question any other way.

(…)

Hermione and little Scarlet met Ginny in London the next morning with a mission of finding a wedding dress and maybe- if she was lucky- bridesmaid dresses as well. Blaise was scheduled to meet them at noon for lunch at a small café a few blocks away.

"Where do you want to start?" Ginny asked as she picked up Scarlet happily and gave her a big hug.

"How about that store across the street?" Hermione pointed at the small boutique. Ginny frowned slightly.

"They're really expensive, 'Mione…"

"Aren't you married to Blaise Zabini? And I'm engaged to Draco Malfoy…" Hermione laughed. Ginny brightened up.

"I'm still not used to it!" she blushed as they crossed the street with Scarlet.

A few hours later and what felt like a million shops later, Hermione had found the perfect dress. It was an a-line cut made of white silk and had no sleeves. The top piece had a champagne colored sash that wrapped around to the back of the dress and near Hermione's butt. The train of the dress was unusually long and had silk roses decorated all along the back. Hermione felt like a princess when she put it on, and automatically knew it was the perfect dress.

"You look absolutely beautiful…" Ginny began to tear up as she watched Hermione inspect herself in a mirror.

"Mommy you look like an angel!" Scarlet cried in excitement.

"There's no such thing…" a cold voice cut through the air of happiness in the room. Hermione and Ginny snapped their heads to where the voice came from.

"What are you doing here? Surely no one asked you to marry them?" Ginny sneered at the girl. The girl's face showed no emotion. She was really quite gorgeous, with fine blonde hair and was sleek down her back. She wore little makeup over her flawless skin, and she looked extremely thin behind her pin striped skirt and blazer. But there was no love behind her eyes and no warmth in her voice.

"I don't believe in marriage, silly girl. It is only an extremely profitable market for individuals like myself. The gown you are wearing I designed myself…" Hermione looked down at the dress she was wearing in sadness.

"I don't care if you made it or not, Pansy, its perfect for me and I still want to buy it…" Hermione stated defiantly. Pansy had stopped paying attention and was watching Scarlet suspiciously.

"Whose child is this?" Pansy asked quietly. "I do not allow any children in my store- they are dirty and brainless." Hermione puffed up.

"She is my daughter and she is _not_ dirty and brainless you self absorbed bitch…" Pansy continued to watch the girl.

"Obviously she is your daughter, who is the father?"

"Why should it matter?" Ginny interjected, hands on her hips. Pansy noticed her ring.

"You are married? Blood traitors are almost as bad as mudbloods! No one but a fellow traitor would have you, you dirty piece of trash…" Pansy spoke coolly, never raising her voice. Ginny turned a deep shade of red.

"You would be interested in knowing my husband is a fellow Slytherin, then?" Ginny shot at her. Pansy's eyes lit up in anger for the first time.

"You accuse a Slytherin of defiling their family bloodline for _you_!" she shouted. Scarlet began to cry in fear and Hermione picked her up protectively. Tiny teardrops fell onto the dress Hermione still wore. Pansy's eyes flicked over to Scarlet again.

"Get out of my store- your dirty money is not good here…" Pansy cried.

"What about Draco Malfoy's money? Is _it_ good here? Or Blaise Zabini's? How about his?" Hermione shot. Pansy looked like someone had just knocked the wind out of her.

"Dr- Draco? You're engaged to Draco?" she clutched her chest and some color flushed into her cheeks. Once again, she looked at Scarlet, this time in anger. "_That's his child?_" Ginny stood between Pansy and Hermione with her wand raised.

"Yes, that is Draco and Hermione's beautiful daughter and if you say one more word about them or about Blaise and me I will hex you so badly-"

"Ginny- no!" Right at that moment Blaise entered the shop and ran over to her. Pansy gasped in horror as Blaise gently pushed Ginny's wand down and kissed her softly.

"Baby, what are you doing?" Blaise asked softly in concern as Ginny's eyes teared up and she clutched his arms for support.

"Don't tell me this is true?" Pansy asked quietly. Suddenly Blaise recognized her.

"Parkinson?" He asked in disbelief. "This is your shop?" Pansy nodded quickly.

"I opened it up after my contract ended…" she said proudly.

"What contract? With the devil, perhaps?" Hermione spat. Scarlet had stopped crying but was hiccupping quietly into Hermione's neck.

"No, a modeling contract you fool." Pansy glared at her, and then eyed Blaise again. "You're married to a blood traitor, then?" Blaise stiffened at her words.

"Never say that again, Parkinson. I don't want to have a reason to hurt you." He responded sharply.

"She's trying to buy my dress, Blaise. I only accept pureblood clientele, though." Pansy changed the subject by pointing to Hermione.

"She's engaged to Draco Malfoy. That should be a good enough reason for you." Pansy grimaced at his words.

"Draco marrying a mudblood… what is the world coming to?" Pansy murmured miserably to herself as she walked over to the register.

"'Mione, we're going to go get a table at the café, just come and meet us whenever she's done ringing you up… she won't give you any more problems…" Blaise gave Pansy a look as she guided Ginny to the door.

Pansy handed Hermione a sales receipt after she had changed back into her regular clothes. Right as Hermione was reaching for the door, Pansy spoke.

"You may want to ask your fiancé if he ever really got over me after we broke up… you may be surprised with what you find out…"

Hermione hurried out the door with Scarlet and her new dress, her mind buzzing with doubt and questions.

(…)

Later that night, after Hermione had put Scarlet to bed she decided to try and talk to Draco about what had happened earlier that day. She plopped down on the overstuffed couch next to him and he put his arm around her.

"What's on your mind, love? You've looked slightly disheveled ever since you got home…" Draco prodded for information. Hermione sighed.

"We had quite an eventful day. And- something happened that's been bothering me…."

"Go on." Draco encouraged, kissing her temple.

"Ginny and I ran into Pansy Parkinson today at one of the bridal shops…" Hermione stopped when Draco pulled his arm away from her nervously. "What?" Hermione questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing! Keep going- tell me the rest…" Draco said, but he avoided eye contact with her.

"She gave me a horrible time. I didn't think she was going to let me buy the dress I fell in love with, but then Blaise came and saved the day pretty much." Hermione explained. She could swear she heard Draco let out a sigh of relief.

"That's all then?" he asked cheerily.

"No." Hermione said flatly, crossing her arms. Something about the vibe he was giving off didn't feel right. " Right when I was leaving she told me you had never really gotten over her and to ask you about it. So I am." When Hermione had finished, Draco said nothing. "Well? What do you suppose she was talking about?"

"Love, I really don't want to fight about this now…" Draco started.

"What have you not told me Draco? I can't believe this…" Hermione cried.

"It's just- I mean- I don't know why and it's not for any particular reason, but I've kept in contact with her since school… that's all…" Draco said nervously. Hermione's mouth dropped.

"You've been keeping in touch with your ex-girlfriend behind my back? Not to mention- the very one _we broke up over!_" Hermione shouted. "What's next, Draco? Are you going to tell me you fucked her after I left, too?" Draco gave her a dark look. "Oh my God… Draco… I was fucking _kidding_!" Hermione began to cry into her hands.

"I'm sorry, baby… I really am… it was just a really hard time and she was there, and it all happened so fast… I never meant it too…." Draco tried to quickly explain.

"What happened to no secrets? What happened to honesty?" Hermione sobbed. "How could you keep that from me too? It's not supposed to be like this, Draco! First Meria, now _this_!" Draco put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Hermione… I don't know what else to say…" Hermione got up from the couch suddenly and disappeared into a room. She came back a few seconds later, clutching the black envelope.

"I wasn't going to say anything to you about this, but apparently now we're having some sort of twisted confession…" Hermione spat, wiping tears from her cheeks. She tossed the envelope at Draco and crossed her arms as she watched him explore the pictures and letters.

"Oh my God… how did you get these?" Draco asked, a pained expression on his face.

"Who else would have them?" Hermione said bitterly. "How am I supposed to trust you when shit like this keeps coming up?" Draco looked at her, absent of what to say.

"I never meant to hurt you…I love you so much…" Draco choked.

"I need some time, Draco… I have to think about a lot now…" Hermione said quietly, not looking at him.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long- I'm taking this government class over the summer semester and it's totally completely 100 kicking my butt. I'm going to be leaving on August 11th, and will be gone until the 20th I believe, so I will post AT LEAST one more chapter before I leave! PLEASE REVIEW! I've been having some major writer's block recently, and I'm thinking about ending the story soon because I'm just not sure where to go with it… let me know if you have any ideas. ALSO I'm working on a new story I'm going to post sometime soon that is another Draco/Hermione fic, but takes place while they are still in Hogwarts, so I'll keep you posted on that! Okay, well thanks for reading and please PLEASE review!-shesmyfavorite


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Another Freakin' Envelope!**

A few days passed with Hermione and Draco still on the rocks. Draco knew her well enough to keep his distance and let her have her space. They shared a bed at night, only so their daughter would not sense any trouble.

Hermione woke up late one morning and rolled over groggily to see if Draco was still in bed. The spot where he slept was wrinkled and cold, telling Hermione he had been gone a while. Lazily, Hermione sat up, stretched, and yawned loudly. As she opened her eyes from a huge yawn, she spotted a new black envelope on the dresser in the same exact spot the old one had laid. Hermione's stomach dropped and her heartbeat quickened.

_How the hell could Meria have sent another one if she's still awaiting her trial in Azkaban?_ Hermione's mind raced.

Without any hesitation, Hermione flew over to the dresser and ripped open the envelope. What she saw made her instantly start crying.

There were pictures of Hermione and Draco from Hogwarts, glaring at each other at first, but they Draco would tickle her and make her scream with laughter. A picture of Draco sneaking up behind Hermione while she was crouched over a book and surprising her with kisses. There were pictures of Hermione and Draco with their daughter, Scarlet, holding her happily and smiling brightly into the camera. All of these happy memories, times of such joy and carelessness.

Hermione wiped the tears off her cheeks gingerly, and proceeded to place the pictures in various frames around the house. Scarlet woke up to Hermione's humming and dancing through the hallways, and tried to mimic her.

"I like it when you're happy, Mommy-" Scarlet said softly after a few minutes of dancing with Hermione. Feeling her chest clench with guilt, Hermione picked up her small daughter and held her close.

"I like it when I'm happy, too, honey. No more sad times, okay?" Hermione kissed Scarlet's temple.

"Pinky swear?" Scarlet held out her tiniest finger daintily. Hermione laughed and complied.

"Pinky swear."

(…)

Later that night, Draco came home from practice quietly and through his broom unceremoniously in the closet. He had suffered through an extremely long, grueling practice and knew Hermione would not speak to him at all when he returned home. Sighing, Draco ran his hands through his hair and began to make his way up to the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.

When he opened the door to the bedroom he almost keeled over in shock. Hermione was laid out on the bed wearing a fiery red silk nightgown that was dangerously revealing. Not knowing how to respond, Draco smiled awkwardly.

"You look… really pretty…" he kicked himself. _Pretty? Pretty! She looks like a fucking super model you dumb ass!_

Hermione smiled at him sweetly.

"I'm sorry I've been treating you so terribly for the past few days. The pictures you left me made me realize that what we have now is much more important and valuable than the mistakes we have made in the past. I can't keep holding grudges against you, Draco. Just, promise me you'll be honest with me from now on, okay?" Hermione explained, inching her way towards him. Draco's mouth was open and all the moisture seemed to have been sucked out.

"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who fucked up…I'm just so glad you're speaking to me again…" Draco finally found his voice.

"I shouldn't have acted so childish. The silent treatment may have been appropriate at Hogwarts, but we're adults now and we have a daughter. I can't keep acting like I'm seventeen again…" Hermione was cut off when Draco grabbed her roughly around the waist.

"I loved you when you were seventeen, and I love you now…" he whispered huskily into her ear before they both collapsed onto the bed and made up for three lost days of their lives.

After a few glorious hours, Hermione and Draco lay next to one another, synchronizing their breathing patterns.

"You know, I haven't thanked you for the pictures, Draco. They were beautiful and I'm so happy you shared them with me…" Hermione snuggled closer to him.

"Yeah… about that…" Draco started. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

(…)

"I'm so proud you finally made up!" Ginny congratulated her. "The wedding is still on, then?"

"Yes, the wedding is still on! I can't believe how close we're getting- it's only a few short weeks away now…"

"Isn't make up sex great?" Ginny asked randomly as she looked up towards the ceiling dreamily, completely ignoring Hermione's talk about the wedding.

"Um… sure…" Hermione looked taken aback and slightly offended. "You know, we didn't use anything the other night though… didn't even come to mind. I'm not too worried though, this isn't the first time we've forgotten since Scarlet was born and nothing has happened yet." Ginny gaped at her friend.

"You're totally pregnant!" Ginny teased, laughing. "That's probably the exact same thing you were thinking the night you got knocked up the _first_ time!"

"Speaking of my beautiful baby girl, do you know anything about any pictures you may have left in Draco and my bedroom?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ginny, the corners of her mouth twitching. Ginny pretended to look confused.

"Pictures? What _kind_ of pictures, darling? Perhaps- some that may help you rekindle your love and make you remember why you fell in love with Draco in the first place? No idea." Ginny shrugged her shoulders cheerily as Hermione laughed.

"Well, thank you for them. Where did you find them anyway?"

"After I moved out of the flat we shared, I accidentally took one of your boxes I guess. I still haven't unpacked everything at Blaise and my house and I came across them the other day. I thought you might want them back. The black envelope thing was just to freak you out…" Ginny smirked.

"What else of mine do you have? You've stolen some of my clothes, haven't you?" Hermione mock accused her.

"Right, I stole all your pregnancy clothes! I mean, I've been getting pretty hefty these days if you can't tell-" Ginny held out her arms to show her slight frame.

(…)

When Hermione returned from her lunch out with Ginny, Draco was playing with Scarlet and a new toy he had bought her. It was a mini version of Draco's broom he flew for Puddlemere and Scarlet was hovering about a foot off the ground and slowly inching forward on it.

"Go fast! Fast!" Scarlet egged it on, but the broom continued it's slow travel.

"Hey baby! Look at how wonderfully you're flying! You're not even falling off!" Hermione praised her daughter. Draco gave her an amused look.

"We've been practicing for almost a solid two hours now. She getting really great, but she took a few nasty spills at first. She's a real trooper, this one-" Draco put his hand on Scarlet's back proudly.

"FAST!" Scarlet cried, throwing her arms in the air. Surprising, she still maintained her balance on the broom without any hands on it. Hermione gave Draco and impressed look while Draco merely raised his eyebrows at her in an "I told you so" manner.

"By the way, I want to talk to you about something, love…" Draco said quietly so Scarlet wouldn't hear. "Pansy owled me this morning after you left. She wants to come to the wedding…" Draco murmured giving Hermione another look.

"Hell no! She only wants to come so she can ruin everything! Please tell me you responded and informed her only _friends and family_ are welcome. She doesn't fit anywhere near either of those categories!" Hermione whispered furiously. Scarlet continued to putt around in slow circles on the broom, all the while yelling at it to go faster.

"I haven't responded. I wanted to wait until you got home to talk about everything with you. I'm not sure why she even had a glimmer of hope that she would be invited, but it makes me nervous." Draco explained.

"You think she's going to try and sneak her way around things, don't you?" Hermione questioned shrilly. Draco nodded darkly.

"That's the Pansy I know."

A/N: Sorry such a short update- I had a final today (Thursday) and another tomorrow. Once again, I'm leaving tomorrow so I won't be able to post for a while. PLEASE DON'T ABANDON MY STORY! I'm coming back, I promise! I'm going to finish it and it will be BEAUTIFUL! (Hopefully…) Next chapter is the wedding… will Pansy ruin it all? Read and find out! Please leave reviews- I didn't get very many on my last couple of updates, so I don't know if people just aren't liking it anymore or what. But, please just leave at least a small one so I know what you think! Constructive criticism is always more than welcome! See you all soon! I'll miss hearing from you all!

XOXO,

shesmyfavorite


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: The Wedding 

Hermione observed herself in the large mirror in her bedroom. Her dress fit just as perfectly as she remembered. Ginny, her maid of honor, stood beside her wearing a long sleek dress that was the color of the sash around Hermione's waist. The two girls hugged each other for comfort.

"I'm so nervous!" Hermione squeaked. Ginny laughed.

"I'm nervous for you! Blaise and I didn't have a ceremony or anything so I don't have any advice for you. I'm the worst maid of honor ever…" Ginny cried, her eyes filling up with tears.

"No, no, no!" Hermione comforted her. "You're the absolute _best_ maid of honor ever! You have been there beside me when _no one else has_. You're my best friend in the entire universe!" Hermione began to tear up as well.

"Ladies, ladies!" Mrs. Weasley bustled over to them. "Don't cry dears, you'll ruin your make up!" Mrs. Weasley's eyes looked red and puffy and she sniffled slightly. They all laughed together.

"I'm a mess now…" Hermione cried, wiping mascara from under her eyes. Ginny muttered a spell and Hermione's make up returned to perfection. "Thanks…" she mumbled nervously.

Hermione only had two bridesmaids besides Ginny; one was her cousin Natalie she had to make a bridesmaid because Hermione had been one in Natalie's wedding a few years earlier. The other was Luna Lovegood, a girl who used to annoy the living hell out of Hermione with her made- up animals and stories. During Hermione's seventh year, she had actually become quite close friends with Luna, and knew that she was one of the only other women she would want at her wedding.

Luna and Natalie groomed themselves quickly and shared nervous glanced with Hermione and Ginny. Suddenly Mrs. Granger burst into the room.

"Hermione! I have a surprise for you, someone wants to speak with you before the wedding begins…" Mrs. Granger forcibly pulled Hermione outside the room and into the seemingly empty hallway. Out of nowhere, a male silhouette appeared.

"Dad?" Hermione whispered, clutched her heart. "Dad!" She repeated once she fully recognized him. Mr. Granger had tears spilling out of his eyes.

"Baby I'm so sorry for everything… I forgot what was really important in life, and I feel like I've wasted almost three precious years of my life without you in it!" he cried, holding Hermione tightly against him. She couldn't speak.

"You haven't met my daughter!" Hermione suddenly pulled away and ran to get Scarlet in excitement. She returned a few moments later, holding her little girl in her arms.

"Scarlet, say hello to Grandpa!" Hermione explained quickly pointing at Mr. Granger. Scarlet looked wary and confused, but she walked closer to him.

"Would it be alright if I picked you up, little lady?" Mr. Granger questioned Scarlet. Scarlet nodded slowly, still not speaking. Once in Mr. Granger's arms, Scarlet sniffed his shirt in curiosity.

"You smell diffwent…" Scarlet announced, looking at Hermione for approval. Hermione smiled warmly at her.

"What does he smell like, baby?"

"Cinnamon!" Scarlet exclaimed, pulling out a piece of candy from his shirt pocket. Mr. Granger laughed heartily.

"Got your brains, I see…" he commented with a twinkle in his eye.

"Our family smarts…" Hermione added. Mr. Granger set Scarlet down gently.

"Now, where would I find this fiancé of yours? I have to talk to him a little bit too."

"Downstairs, two room down on the right." Hermione answered. Mr. Granger started to walk away. "Dad!" Hermione suddenly shouted and Mr. Granger swirled around. "Will you walk me down the aisle today?"

"I would be honored to…" his voice choked and he turned before she saw more tears fall from his eyes.

(…)

Draco was frantic. He was getting married in a few minutes and couldn't stop shaking. Blaise came over to him and patted him on the back.

"Chill out man, wanna cig?" Blaise offered a cigarette before popping one into his own mouth. Draco shook his head.

"Hermione would murder me if she found out." Draco muttered. "And she _would_ find out." He added after Blaise made a face at him.

"How is it you're not married to her yet? You're whipped like you've been married for years." Blaise asked lazily as he lit his cigarette and took a slow drag.

"We practically have been. Just not legally." Draco smirked.

Right then, there was a knock on the door. Blaise stifled his cigarette quickly and looked extremely nervous. Draco glanced over at him.

"Ginny thinks you've quit, then?" he asked. Blaise shrugged his shoulders guiltily. "And you call me whipped?" Draco laughed.

When Draco answered the door he automatically prepared himself for direct hit to the face- but surprisingly it never came.

"Mr. Granger? Wow, um, come on it…" Draco opened the door further and allowed Mr. Granger to walk in. As he entered through the doorway, he sniffed the air disapprovingly.

"Does she know you smoke?" he asked gruffly at Draco.

"Oh! Um, no, that's from me…" Blaise interjected, holding out his hand. "Blaise Zabini."

"Richard Granger. Pleasure." Mr. Granger took his hand. "Now, I've really come to speak with you, Draco. I'll make it short and sweet." Mr. Granger explained in a deep voice. Draco gulped. "Do you love my daughter- truly love her?"

"Yes…" Draco answered.

"Will you protect her with your life?"

"Of course…"

"Will you be faithful to her until the day you die?"

"Yes…"

"This last one isn't a question. It's a demand- and I'm deadly serious. Never hurt her. If you do, I will hunt you down and kill you. I mean that with every fiber of my being. She's my only daughter, my only child. I will not see her hurt again. Understand?" Mr. Granger's face was inches away from Draco's.

"I understand, sir. But I have something to ask of you as well. " Draco said boldly, causing Mr. Granger's eyebrows to fly up in surprise.

"What's that?"

"Never hurt her again. I also will not stand to see her hurt like she was ever again. It will not happen. I hope I have made myself clear." Draco finished. Mr. Granger's eyebrows still stood up.

"I respect you for that, son. We'll just have to have a mutual agreement on it." Mr. Granger held out his hand and Draco shook it. "Now, we've got a wedding to attend."

(…)

Draco stood patiently at the alter, waiting for Hermione to walk around the bend and into sight. The music started, and Draco felt himself begin to sweat slightly. The bridesmaids walked down the aisle, each in slow progression. Then darling little Scarlet threw rose petals on all the guests instead of on the floor like she was instructed. Draco merely smirked.

That's my girl… 

Hermione glided serenely into view and Draco was very sure she was the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Her hair cascading in soft brown curls around her radiantly smiling face. There were glimmers of diamonds in her hair, which made her shimmer in the sunlight. Draco could not take his eyes off her, or wipe the stupid grin off his face. Everything seemed to be moving unusually quickly for him. Suddenly, Hermione was next to him and hugging her father as he gave her away to Draco.

The preacher read their vows and they exchanged rings. Everything was going so fast! Draco couldn't remember another time in his life where events were blurred together like this one.

"You may kiss the bride." The preacher announced and smiled down at Hermione and Draco. They lunged towards one another and kissed deeply.

"I now introduce to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy!" All the friends and family in the audience stood up and began cheering loudly. Draco swung Scarlet on top of his shoulders, and held Hermione's hand as they rushed out to the waiting vintage Rolls Royce. Once inside, Draco pulled Hermione in close for another kiss.

"We did it!" Hermione cried in happiness. "We're finally married!"

"You look- absolutely stunning. You're perfect, gorgeous- you look like-"

"An angel!" Scarlet finished the sentence for him and hugged Hermione tightly. Draco chuckled.

"She's right. You look like an angel…" Draco kissed her again before pulling out a bottle of champagne. Hermione eyed it warily.

"I'll just have sparkling grape juice with Scarlet, dear…" Hermione tried to play it off casually. Draco narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why don't you want champagne? Are you trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me?" he started to get excited.

"No… I don't know anything for sure. Don't get your hopes up! I just want to be careful in case I am… _you know_…" Hermione blushed. Draco pulled her into a breath-taking embrace.

"I can't believe it! I'm getting a second chance!" Draco shouted.

"What do you mean 'second chance'?" Hermione questioned.

"I wasn't there when you were going through everything in the beginning the first time- this is my second chance. I get to be there with you, help you through everything, and take care of you!" Draco whispered, caressing Hermione's cheek gently. "I love you so much… this day couldn't get any better…"

"I don't know anything for sure yet, love… so don't get too excited. It may be a false alarm…" Hermione started to tear up, but Draco kissed her before she could.

"It will happen if it's meant to happen. Let's just go to our reception and then take off for our honeymoon in peace and happiness…" Draco said. Hermione nodded fervently and glanced lovingly at her ring.

"I'm the new Mrs. Malfoy…" she said quietly.

A/N: SURPRISE! I just wanted to squeeze one more in because I felt bad the other one was so short. SO, I expect EXTRA reviews for this guys! LOL ) I hope you all are enjoying it, and sorry if it seems like I rushed through the wedding part, but I'm not a huge fan of writing or reading huge elaborate wedding scenes when it's always the same stuff that happens in them anyways. Okay, well, if you reviewed for Chap. 15, please review for Chap. 16 as well! Nothing will make me happier than coming home a inbox full of reviews from you guys!

See you all later!

-shesmyfavorite


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: The Reception Part 1**

Draco and Hermione's wedding reception was held in a large ballroom with thousands of flowers and candles for decoration. People were dancing and eating and laughing over all their past experiences and probing for information on when the new Malfoy's planned on having another baby. Draco and Hermione smiled politely to everyone, but carefully maneuvered around the personal questions. Everything was going perfectly and everyone was enjoying themselves immensely until a noisy verbal argument stifled the happy chatter in the large ballroom. The altercation seemed to be happening outside the room, where the guards allowed people to enter and exit through their magical invitations. As the talking built up again, Draco let go of Hermione's hand and walked swiftly over to the door, his brow furrowed in annoyance and concern.

"What's going on-" Draco stopped almost immediately. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited!" Pansy huffed, her face a blotchy red from anger and shouting. She shoved an invitation into Draco's face. "See?" Draco grabbed the letter from her and inspected it quickly.

"How the hell did you get this? We specifically informed all the people in charge of this not to send invitations out to certain people. Including _you._" Draco handed the invitation back to her forcefully.

"Well, I sort of caught on to that so I owled your mum. She was more than happy to rectify the silly mistake." Draco whirled around to search out his mother.

"MUM!" Draco bellowed. Everyone became silent again and looked at him with wide eyes. Narcissa peeked her head around a rather large guest.

"Yes, dear?" she asked innocently, sipping at her champagne.

"A word?" Draco motioned furiously for her to hurry the hell over to where he stood. Narcissa gracefully made her way over to him, taking her time and smiling at the guests as they once again began to chatter.

"What?" she spat at him in annoyance as soon as she had finally made her way over to him. Draco stepped aside so Narcissa could view Pansy. "Oh, hello Pansy darling! So glad you could make it!" Narcissa waved cheerily at her.

"No, mum! This is a very bad thing. Why would you invite her directly against my wishes?" Draco asked desperately. Narcissa looked thoroughly bored.

"Draco, Draco, you need to let bygones be bygones. Pansy explained to me that you did not want her to come because she shattered your heart when she dumped you at Hogwarts. I knew it was only ridiculous rivalry at that point, so I took it upon myself to invite her for you. So you two can be friends again! Don't you see, darling? I did you a favor!" Draco held his head in his hands and sighed.

"Maybe it would be best if you both left then. This is _Hermione and my_ day. Not a bloody school reunion." Draco motioned to one of the guards. "Please escort these ladies off the premises and make sure my mother gets home safely."

On that note, Draco turned back around to face his guests just in time to see Blaise Zabini deliver a solid right hook to Harry Potter's face.

A/N: HEY GUYS! I'm really sorry it took me so long to post and HOW AWFUL AM I FOR POSTING SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER? I know! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I've been so busy it's unbelievable. I would tell you all everything that's been going on, but it would make me pages and pages and pages. But in a nutshell: my trip was awesome, I moved, my fiancé is moving, school started with some major drama, and I adopted some new pets! Whew! Craziness! I will try really hard to update soon, and I'm trying to wrap everything up within the next couple of chap's. I hope you all are doing well and please review! Thanks so much- I love you all!

- shesmyfavorite


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: The Reception Part 2 

Draco stood rooted to the ground.

_Did I just see what I thought I saw?_

Before Draco could answer himself, Harry spat blood on the ground and lunged with flailing fists toward Blaise. The crowd screamed and parted for the two fighting men. Draco snapped back into reality and rushed over to break apart the two guys. He was helped by Ron and a couple other guests. Once Harry and Blaise were separated, Draco demanded silence.

"What the fuck was that about?" Draco shoved Blaise's shoulder threateningly. Blaise grimaced at him.

"Fucking Potter decided he was going to make a move on my _wife_!" Blaise bellowed, his eyes resolute on Harry. Everyone gasped and turned towards Harry, who appeared to have had one too many drinks.

"I had her first, Zabini…" Harry drawled, smirking. "You can never get that back!" Blaise made an attempt to lunge towards Harry again, but was pinned down by several men.

"Fuck you, Potter! Don't ever talk about her like that!" Blaise shouted. Ginny rested a timid hand on Blaise's shoulder.

"What's gotten in to you, Harry?" Ginny asked angrily. "I'm married now! I'm happy with Blaise!" Harry shook his head at her.

"No. You told me you loved me. You told me you wanted to be with me, remember? Don't you remember any of that! Love doesn't just disappear, Ginny!" Harry screamed at her. Ginny's face had turned a dark shade of pink.

"You're right, love doesn't just disappear, but it _changes_! I don't love you like that anymore- I haven't in a really long time! Why is that not good enough for you anymore?" Ginny's eyes began to tear up. Harry stared at her in silence for a moment.

"Because I never should have let you go. What does it matter that Voldemort's gone if I don't have you anymore? I can't have happiness or peace or rest so what has changed!" Harry shouted. He gave one final glance around the room before leaving quickly.

Draco stood there in a stunned silence. He looked around for Hermione and saw her sitting at a table by herself looking extremely miserable. He walked slowly over to her, trying to feel her out before they started talking. Her expression was hard to read.

"A lot of excitement today, huh?" Draco smiled softly at her and smoothed her hair down gently. Hermione gazed up at him sadly.

"It's ruined…" she whispered and then burst into tears. Draco felt a flutter of panic in his stomach. He hadn't been expecting that at all. Recomposing himself mentally, Draco put his arms around her.

"What's ruined, love?"

"The whole reception! Pansy came and tried to crash it, and then Blaise had to punch Harry and make a huge scene and now everyone is leaving!" Hermione sobbed and pointed at the guests who were indeed heading for the door. Draco watched them for a moment and tried to think of something to say.

"I'm sorry, Hermione." He whispered. "But think of all the wonderful things that happened today instead of the bad. We're _married_ for god's sake. We might be having another baby- and… well….we're _married_!" Draco laughed and squeezed Hermione. She smiled slowly.

"You're right. Today has been wonderful… thank you Draco." She kissed him deeply and ran her fingers through his hair.

"So, when can we find out?" Draco asked once they had pulled apart.

"Find out what?" Hermione asked.

"If… you know…" Draco pointed at her stomach and grinned.

"Oh! Well…" Hermione calculated quickly in her head, "it's been about three weeks now I guess… so we could try tonight?" She looked at him questioningly. Draco beamed.

(…)

Draco and Hermione left the reception with Scarlet and headed back to their home. They weren't scheduled to leave on their honeymoon until the following morning and had delayed packing until the last second.

They had decided a few months ago to go to the Bahamas for their honeymoon, and would stay there for two glorious weeks of peace, quiet, and relaxation. Up until the point when they walked back into their home with a soundly sleeping daughter did they fully realize they were going to have to leave her in England while they were gone. Draco carried her gently to her crib and tucked her in with a kiss on the forehead. Hermione stood beside him watching and caressed her forearm lovingly.

"I'm going to miss her so much…" Hermione sniffed quietly. Draco put his arm around her.

"I know… we've never been gone from her for so long before. But we can call Ginny and Blaise everyday and talk to her. It'll be fine, love…" Draco reassured her. Hermione leaned her head against his chest.

"I'm really glad they agreed to watch her while we're gone. I think Scarlet feels more comfortable around them than with either of our mothers…" Hermione whispered.

"They're going to be good parents whenever Blaise knocks her up…" Draco smirked. Hermione punched his shoulder playfully.

"You're so crass."

"Speaking of getting knocked up…" Draco trailed off. Hermione laughed as they exited their daughter's room and shut her door.

"Do you wish for a boy or another girl?" Hermione asked him. Draco thought for a few seconds.

"Honestly, I don't really care. It would probably be karma for me to have a bunch of girls, though." Draco smiled.

"Yes, you will have to worry about them meeting someone like you at Hogwarts!" Hermione laughed. Draco nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm already worried about it…"

"So, you're not concerned with having a Malfoy heir?" Hermione pondered.

"Well, considering it is tradition, it's slightly appealing, but if it doesn't happen I'm not going to be upset." Draco answered casually. Hermione smiled at him.

"This is all very exciting. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but now that everything has been happening and we've been talking about it- I feel like I'm really ready to have another baby with you…" Hermione gushed. Draco pulled her close to him and kissed her.

"I'm more than ready. What do we need to do? Should I go buy one of those muggle things Ginny was talking about? The stick thing?" Draco asked.

"No, there is a spell we can use. We never studied it at Hogwarts, but you know me… there was a book on it. " Hermione smiled and got up to find her wand while she tried to explain it to Draco.

"Right, so how exactly does this work again?" Draco nervously fingered his wand.

"It's really very simple. You take a wand, point it at your stomach and speak the spell. Letters will appear that look like smoke telling you whether or not you're pregnant…" Hermione smiled brightly at him.

"You're obviously very proud of yourself," Draco smirked.

"Do you think every seventh year girl figured that out?" Hermione blushed slightly and took his hand. "Ready?" she asked. Draco nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be…" Hermione pointed her wand at her stomach and took a deep breath.

"_Praegnans ou vaco_!" she spoke clearly. Nothing happened at first, and Hermione glanced at Draco nervously. Just when she was about to repeat the spell, the familiar wispy smoke-like letters appeared in front of them.

(…)

Ginny and Blaise were back at their home after the reception. The car ride home had been slightly awkward between the two of them. Blaise had made a few subtle attempts to try and get Ginny to talk, but her head seemed to be miles away. Blaise eventually gave up and drove the rest of the way home in silence. Once back at home, Blaise observed Ginny sulking around and acting depressed. Deciding it was worth it to give it one more go, Blaise tried talking to Ginny one more time.

"Gin?" Blaise called tenderly. Ginny walked out of their bedroom in her pajamas. She was wearing little white cotton shorts and a tight white camisole that showed about two inches of her stomach. Blaise gulped down a seductive comment.

"Yes?" she asked quietly, sitting down next to him on their couch.

"Tell me what you're thinking about, love. You've been moping around since we got home." Blaise smiled at her lovingly. Ginny sighed and ran her hand down his cheek softly.

"I'm just bothered. Harry and I dated so long ago, and I didn't know he still felt that way." Ginny explained, looking down. Blaise's brow furrowed.

"Are you trying to tell me you're happy he still feels that way about you?" Blaise asked. Ginny looked up suddenly, a look of horror on her face.

"No! Oh God, no!" Ginny put her hand over her mouth. "That's not what I meant at all, Blaise! It's just, weird that he never got over everything. He really shook me up tonight. I can't explain why…" Ginny shook her head and did not finish the sentence.

"Gin, be honest with me." Blaise said in his serious voice. "Do you still love him?"

A/N: Hello lovelies! Sorry- another short chappie, but I needed to end it there! I have already started writing the next chap so it will be up tomorrow most likely! I have a lot of catching up to do… ALSO! I'm going to post the first chapter of my BRAND NEW story tomorrow so PLEASE PLEASE check that out- I will let you know about it in my next post. It's going to be another Draco/Hermione story, but it will take place while they are still in Hogwarts. It's going to be really fun so please read it! Thank you all so much for your reviews on the last chap- I know it was disappointingly short. Please review and I will update soon! You guys are the BEST!

-shesmyfavorite


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: Baby Fever**

Draco squeezed Hermione's hand as the wispy letters became more and more clear in the air beside them. Soon they were perfectly visible.

Praegnans 

For a few stunned seconds, they both stood perfectly still staring at the letters. Draco was the first to come back down to earth.

"Holy shit…" he whispered as he turned to look at Hermione. She continued to be silent, but met his gaze. Suddenly, Hermione broke into a beaming smile.

"We're having another baby!" she cried, jumping on Draco so that her legs wrapped around his torso and her arms wrapped around his neck. Draco held her and laughed into her hair.

"I can't believe it! I really am getting a second chance…" Draco's voice cracked. Hermione looked in his eyes, expecting to see tears, but all she found was happiness. They kissed each other in a frantic delirium, moving their way slowly to the bedroom.

(…)

The next morning, Hermione woke up early and made her way quietly into Scarlet's room. Scarlet was lying in bed, playing with her toes.

"Mommy!" Scarlet cried happily as she stood up and reached her arms out.

"Hi sweetie! Did you get a good night's rest?" Hermione picked Scarlet up and hugged her closely. Scarlet nodded and gave Hermione a wet kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, Mommy!" Scarlet announced, hugging Hermione's neck. Hermione felt herself tear up.

"I love you too, baby…" She kissed Scarlet on the forehead and carried her into the kitchen.

Draco came down a few minutes later, yawning and scratching his head. Scarlet ran up to him.

"Hi Daddy!" Scarlet cried in excitement. "Can I play on my bwoom?" Draco's eyes lit up.

"Sure, Scuttle-bee! Do you want to help me go get it?" Draco held out his hand, which Scarlet took and they started walking off together.

"Breakfast is going to be ready in about fifteen minutes, so be back by then!" Hermione called to them from the kitchen.

"Alright, love," Draco called back to her, throwing her a knowing smile.

Scarlet was getting quite good at flying. So much so, that Draco had elevated her broom a little higher off the ground and increased the speed without letting Hermione know. Scarlet zoomed around on her broom like she had been flying since the day she was born and even started trying to pull some of the tricks she saw her daddy do. After what seemed like about fifteen minutes, Draco sadly made Scarlet take her broom back to the closet and head inside for breakfast.

Hermione was just setting the last plate on the table when they came inside and smiled brightly at them.

"Go wash your heads, sweetie…" Hermione directed towards Scarlet. Draco glanced at Scarlet and saw she was holding her hands out at him expectantly. Draco muttered a cleaning spell and Hermione glowered at him.

"She needs to learn how to wash her hands with soap and water, Draco."

"I know, I know. But you didn't see that face she was giving me. I had no choice but to do what she wanted…" Draco shrugged.

After breakfast, Scarlet stayed inside and played with some of her toys while Hermione and Draco sat down to talk.

"How do you think we should tell Scarlet about this?" Hermione asked, sipping her glass of orange juice. Draco let out a heavy sigh and put his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I guess we should be honest with her about it. Tell her she's going to have a baby brother or sister." Draco responded.

"I don't know if she'll really understand what that means…" Hermione explained.

"She probably won't really know. But, she'll figure it out soon enough. I'm sure she'll ask lots of questions, but the important thing is that we're honest with her and we don't give her too much information. Only answer the direct questions she asks." Draco said. Hermione looked surprised.

"When did you become an expert?" she teased. Draco smirked.

"I took a dose of your medicine and read a book or two on parenting." Draco answered.

"I'm impressed, I must admit…" Hermione smiled at him.

"That kind of reminds me of something I meant to ask you last night…" Draco spoke.

"What is it?"

"Do you want to find out the sex of the baby before he or she is born this time around?" Draco questioned. Hermione thought for a second.

"Well, I know we had it my way with Scarlet, so if you would like to find out before hand it is fine with me."

"You still want to wait, don't you?" Draco grinned. Hermione smiled at him.

"You know me too well."

"Let's wait. It was pretty exciting with Scarlet. And you're right- some things were meant to be surprises…" Draco decided.

(…)

Blaise stared at Ginny waiting for a response. Ginny's eyes had teared up and she hadn't spoken in a few seconds. Blaise started to get up, intentions of killing The Boy Who Lived spreading like fire through his mind.

"Blaise- wait!" Ginny choked out. Blaise stopped, but did not turn to face her. "I love Harry- I really do." Ginny said. Blaise felt something inside him roar. "But not like you think I do. I love him like a best friend. Not a husband…" Ginny finished. Blaise could hear his heart beating so loud it was almost deafening. He turned to face her. "I love you, Blaise. I want to be with _you_." Ginny whispered. She got up and ran over to him. He opened his arms and allowed her into his large embrace.

"Then why is this whole thing bothering you so much, Gin?" Blaise sounded tired.

"Because he's such a close friend. He made me feel really guilty and bad when he started talking about the Voldemort stuff. I don't like to see my friends suffering." Ginny explained.

"You don't think he was playing it out a bit to make you feel exactly the way you do now? Come on, Gin, he wanted to make you feel bad so you would go back to him in sympathy and guilt. It really fuckin' pisses me off that he did that because he _knows_ we're married and I finally fuckin' started to trust him around you." Blaise vented.

"I know, Blaise… and I really feel like I should try and talk to him again…" Ginny started.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go by yourself. I don't trust him after what happened…" Blaise said quickly. Ginny put her hands on her hips in a defiant way.

"Blaise Zabini you know very well I don't like being told what to do." She narrowed her eyes at him. Blaise put his arms around her protectively and sighed.

"I know you don't. I'm not trying to be controlling, Gin, but it would make me feel so much better if you didn't go alone. Invite him to the house at least, and I'll go upstairs or outside or something. But I want to be near in case he tries something else."

"I guess that's fair. I do need to start being more careful these days…" Ginny trailed off, hiding a smirk. Blaise pulled away from her and looked at her face.

"What do you mean 'these days'?" Blaise asked nervously. Ginny grinned at him.

"Oh, I think you know…" Ginny responded. Blaise looked at her stomach and placed one of his large hands over it.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a whisper. Ginny nodded.

"Say hello to the future Blaise, Jr!" Ginny laughed, throwing her arms around Blaise.

"It's a _boy_!" Blaise cried in happiness.

"I don't know if it's a boy or girl yet, love! It's too soon to be able to tell…" Ginny smiled and nuzzled her head into his warm neck. "We're having a baby though…"

(…)

It had been a couple days after Hermione and Draco found out they were having another child that they started thinking about getting a room ready for the baby. It was extremely early to do anything like that, but Draco was overwhelmed with excitement and he needed an outlet for it all. The house they were living in only had one extra bedroom, and Draco began to think it would not be big enough for everyone once the new baby came.

"Love, we won't have a guest room or an office or anything…" Draco contemplated one morning. Hermione took a bite of toast and thought quietly for a moment.

"So, what are you proposing we do about that?" she asked. Draco gave her a look that explained it all. "You want to move, then?"

"I just think it is the best solution. We can keep it a secret from people we don't like and we will have more room…" Draco explained.

"Well, Scarlet is over at your mother's house so she can play with Tyler for another few hours, so we could go talk to someone to help us sell this house and find a new one…" Hermione suggested.

"I don't think we need any help… I'm pretty sure we can handle it on our own…" Draco said. Hermione sighed.

"Fine, fine. Whatever you want. I'm feeling a little tired, though, so I'm going to go take a nap for a bit." Hermione stood up from her chair. Draco cleared up the dishes from the table.

"Well, I'll wait for whenever you're ready to go. I've got practice later on tonight, so as long as we get things done before five I'm free…" Draco explained.

"Why don't you come take a nap with me?" Hermione asked, holding out her hand. Draco smiled at her and took her hand.

"I'm not really tired, but I'll come lay down with you…" he kissed her forehead and they made their way upstairs.

A/N: Okay, so I haven't finished the first chapter for my new story yet but I'll let you all know when I do! Thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews! They make my day!

-shesmyfavorite


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey guys! Someone pointed out a major whoopsie I made in this story… I forgot Draco and Hermione's honeymoon! Oops! Okay, well, that's a huge mistake and I thoroughly apologize for being so careless, but for the sake of the flow of the story, please just pretend it already happened and they had lots of fun and relaxation and stuff like that. Once again, I'm sooo sorry for forgetting it. But besides that- on with the story!**

**Chapter Twenty: Changes**

Draco and Hermione left around mid-day to look at some homes that were on the market. After driving around for hours and finding nothing to his liking, Draco felt like giving up.

"Well its only small things that aren't quite what we're looking for…" Hermione sighed. Draco looked over at her with a small smile on his face. "What?" Hermione questioned in response to his grin.

"Why don't we just build?" Draco offered. Hermione's face lit up.

"Draco that's an excellent idea! We can have everything we want!" Hermione exclaimed. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll talk to Blaise and figure out who he had build his house… it turned out really nice…" Draco thought out loud.

"Can we have a second story balcony from our room?" Hermione asked in a frenzy of excitement.

"Love, we can have whatever will make you happy…" Draco took hold of her hand. "This will be _our_ home after all…"

"I can't wait to talk to Gin- I have so much to tell her…" Hermione practically squealed.

(…)

Narcissa brought Scarlet back over to the house later that evening as Draco was getting ready to leave for practice. Hermione told Narcissa about the new baby and about moving, which Narcissa simply scoffed at. She had become slightly more friendly since Tyler had come into her life, but still had an arrogant nature about her.

"Are you staying in the country?" Narcissa asked, glancing at her polished nails with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, we haven't really discussed any locations yet. I'm sure we're not going to travel too far away. Both of our families are in England…" Hermione explained patiently as Scarlet tugged on the hem of her skirt for attention.

"Well, I should be getting back to the Manor. I ordered the house elves to watch Tyler for a few short moments while I brought Scarlet back, but they can't be trusted for a long amount of time, you know…" Narcissa spun around and walked out the door, ignoring the annoyed look on Hermione's face.

"What is it, darling?" Hermione bent to eye level with her daughter.

"Broom!" Scarlet threw her hands in the air proudly.

"You can say your 'R's! Baby that's great!" Hermione hugged Scarlet and called to Draco who came jogging into the room looking flustered.

"Love, I'm really in a terrible rush-"

"Scarlet wants to tell you something." Hermione gave him _the look_. Draco closed his mouth slowly and gave his daughter a smile.

"What is it Scuttle-bee?"

"Broom!" Scarlet cried again. Draco's eyes widened.

"You want to come to Daddy's practice?" Draco asked enthusiastically. Hermione frowned.

"Draco, she can pronounce "R" now. She doesn't want to come to your practice- she'd be bored stiff after five minutes. Plus, who's going to watch her while you-"

"I wanna go! I wanna go!" Scarlet ran over to Draco and latched onto his leg. "Please, Daddy?" She asked in her serious voice. Draco looked at Hermione, who sighed and shrugged.

"Alright! You can come, baby!" Draco scooped her up and kissed her forehead. "Let's go finish getting everything together so we won't be late…"

"I'm going to go visit Ginny, then…" Hermione said, picking up her purse. "She and I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Okay, we'll be home around nine." Draco kissed Hermione goodbye and let Scarlet give Hermione a hug.

"Be careful, don't let her get away from you. She's a very good hider…" Hermione warned.

"I think I can handle my own child, love…" Draco smirked.

"Alright well, I love you- see you later…"

(…)

Hermione arrived at Ginny and Blaise's house about a quarter to five and rang the doorbell. She heard some scuffling inside before Ginny answered in her pajamas. "Hermione! I'm so glad you're here! I have _so much_ to talk to you about…" Ginny hugged her quickly and ushered her inside.

"I know, Gin, I have a lot to tell you too." The two girls sat on the couch after getting some tea.

"Go first." Hermione smiled and sipped her tea. Ginny grinned widely.

"Well, Blaise and I had this huge fight the other night- right after the wedding over everything with Harry…" Ginny explained. "And he thought that I still had feelings for him."

"Feelings for Harry? Come on, that was _ages_ ago…" Hermione laughed.

"I know! Anyway, so we had a fight and then everything ended up being all right and we made up. But then, I decided to tell him some other little bit of information…" Ginny paused to build up the anticipation. "I'm pregnant!" She shouted. Hermione gasped.

"Me too!" She shrieked. The two girls hugged each other and laughed shrilly about the coincidence. "What are the chances!" Hermione cried after they settled down a bit. Ginny was still giggling slightly.

"I know, it's very strange! You're going to have to help me a lot because I don't know what to really expect. I mean, its different when you're watching it happen to someone else, you know?" Ginny asked.

"It is different. But don't worry, you'll be fine. And you get to eat anything you want whenever you want…" Hermione joked. Ginny sighed noisily.

"I wish I was pregnant all the time…" Right then Blaise came down the stairs.

"What the hell is going on down- oh hey, Hermione!" Blaise's look of concern faded into pleasantness. "I heard a bunch of screaming and stuff upstairs so I wanted to make sure my wife was still alive…" Blaise walked over to Ginny and kissed her.

"She was just telling me the wonderful news." Hermione smiled.

"Blaise, you're never going to believe what Hermione told me…" Ginny giggled again. Blaise rose his eyebrows.

"What's that?"

"I'm pregnant too…" Hermione started laughing again at the look on Blaise's face.

"You too must really get at it over there…" Blaise smirked. Hermione pretended to look offended, but couldn't help but smile.

"Actually, there's a little bit more news too. Draco and I have decided to move and we're going to build our own home. The one we're in now is going to be a little small when the new baby comes." Hermione explained.

"Ugh, I'm so jealous. I've been wanting to move for a while, but Blaise is just really attached to this place for some reason." Ginny gushed.

"Gin, this was my first house. There's nothing wrong with it, I don't understand why you want a new one. You've lived here for less than a year. Are you going to do that with a new house too?" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Blaise, this house is fine. It's just- not exactly what I would like to have. I eventually want to move out of here and buy a new home." Ginny said.

"We'll talk later. I should get going back upstairs, I'm working on some papers for the Minister…" Blaise kissed her cheek and jogged back up the stairs.

"So, have you picked out any names?" Hermione questioned once Blaise was out of sight.

"Oh, is that ever a story." Ginny laughed. "I told the family yesterday about the baby and Mum practically ordered that the baby be named after _Dumbledore_. Odd, isn't it? I don't think that's going to happen. But Blaise and I haven't really had time to sit down and think about anything yet." Ginny answered. Hermione nodded.

"It takes a bit to settle in. Draco and I haven't talked about names yet either. We decided to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex, like we did with Scarlet."

"I don't know if I'm patient enough to do that, and I'm pretty sure Blaise isn't either. We like to plan things ahead of time." Ginny said.

"It's all very exciting…" Hermione sighed.

"Speaking of exciting, Meria's trial date has been set, did you hear?" Ginny asked casually. Hermione practically choked on her tea.

"What?"

"It was in the _Daily Prophet_ the other day. I believe it's in a month or so, but the press isn't expecting it to go very well for her. No one looks too kindly on a psychopath mum who tried to kill her son." Ginny squirted a sliced lemon into her tea and stirred it.

"Draco must not know, either. I'm sure he would have said something…" Hermione's brow was furrowed.

"Don't stress, 'Mione. You aren't going to go, are you?" Ginny asked. Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know. I hadn't even thought about it at all. I doubt it- she's very strange… it would bring back bad memories to see her again."

"I don't blame you. That was quite a lot of drama she stirred up between you and Draco…" Ginny commiserated.

The girls chatted for the rest of the evening until it was close to nine. Hermione said goodbye to both Ginny and Blaise before apparating back home to meet Draco and Scarlet.

To Hermione's surprise, Draco and Scarlet were already at home playing on the couch when Hermione entered.

"You're home early-" Hermione smiled warmly and let Draco weave his arms around her.

"Yes, well, I have a confession, love…" Draco kissed her deeply. "We played hookey…"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Instead of going to practice, Scarlet and I picked out a builder and a plot of land…" Draco smirked. Hermione's eyes widened.

"No-" A smile played across her face, "You're joking!"

"I'm not, here are the plans for our new house…" Draco laughed and grabbed some parchment off the kitchen table. Hermione's eyes wandered over the page and then began to tear up.

"Oh, Draco, it's perfect…" she whispered before hugging him. "When is it going to be ready to move into?"

"That's the great part. This builder is really well known for his quality, but also time efficiency. Using magic, he should be done in just a couple of months." Draco grinned.

"I'm so excited!" Hermione shrieked, as she bounced up and down.

"I know, I already owled our friends and family to let them know…" Draco said. Hermione's face suddenly fell. "What's wrong?" Draco asked quickly.

"I just remembered… Ginny told me that Meria's trial date has been set…" Hermione whispered so Scarlet wouldn't overhear. Draco's face was stone.

"When is it?"

"I'm not sure exactly. I think Ginny said in about a month…" Hermione continued to whisper. "Do you think we should go?"

"I want to go." Draco said quickly. Hermione was slightly taken off guard- she had expected him to think about over a period of time. Draco could sense her uneasiness. "I need to know what happens, love. It will make me feel so much better if I know all the facts, and the only way I'll get that is if I'm there…" Draco explained.

"I understand…" Hermione nodded. "I think I want to go too."

"It's a date then…" Draco said grimly.

(…)

The day of Meria's trial arrived, and Draco and Hermione were rushing around the house at the last minute trying to plan things out.

"Has Ginny gotten here yet?" Hermione called from the second floor.

"No- is Scarlet dressed?" Draco yelled back up at her from the kitchen.

"Kind of…" Hermione called back. "I hope Ginny hurries, because I don't know if they will let us in if we're la-"

"Hey everyone!" Ginny's voice rang from the entryway. "Sorry I'm late…"

Hermione carried Scarlet downstairs hurriedly and set her down.

"Hi, Gin. Sorry we can't chat, but we really have to hurry…" Hermione smiled at her.

"That's okay. Just let me know how everything goes when you get back! Have fun!" Ginny waived at them as the rushed out the door.

**(Later that Day)**

"Hey Ginny, we're back!" Hermione called from the doorway. Ginny was in the kitchen fixing lunch for Scarlet and herself.

"Oh hi! How did it go?" Ginny asked, wiping her hands off with a towel.

"She was found guilty and sentenced to fifteen years in Azkaban…" Draco answered sadly.

"Fifteen years? That's all?" Ginny asked in disbelief. Hermione nodded.

"I know, it just doesn't seem fair. She tried to kill her child and she only goes away for fifteen years. Tyler will be nineteen when she is released." Hermione agreed.

"If she is released. Average life span in Azkaban isn't fifteen years…" Draco said darkly.

"At least she was found guilty though…" Ginny tried to sound cheery.

"I don't know what we would have done if she wasn't…" Draco admitted.

"Oh yeah- the mail came while you were gone…" Ginny handed Draco a stack of envelopes. Draco filed through them muttering 'junk' and tossing them aside until he reached a particular one.

"Love, it's from the builder…" Draco called to Hermione who had migrated into the kitchen with Ginny to fix lunch. Hermione popped her head up.

"What does it say?" She asked excitedly. Draco ripped it open and began reading.

"He's finished the house early!" Draco exclaimed. "He says the weather has been pleasant over the past month so they have been able to get much more work done than they anticipated and they finished way ahead of schedule!" Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and kissed her temple.

"Oh I'm so happy we got this letter today- it's made everything so much better!" Hermione cried.

"I'm so jealous!" Ginny laughed and gave Hermione a hug.

A/N: I'm starting to wrap things up, so things will be going a little faster these last few chapters. Next chapter you can look forward to Draco and Hermione's new house aaaaaaaand BABIES! That's right! The babies are coming! Names anyone? Please REVIEW!

-shesmyfavorite


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One: A Zabini and a Malfoy**

Hermione and Draco wasted little time moving into their new home. It was a beautiful Gothic style three-story home with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, an enormous living room, kitchen, study/library, and a bonus room on the third floor. The plot of land Draco bought was over ten acres, and included a Quidditch field, pool, and mother-in-law house. There was a small building near the Quidditch field where Draco kept all his brooms and practice equipment so as not to clutter the main home. There was a good acre of land you had to travel through before the house even came into sight from the road. The heavily wooded land gave the young couple much needed privacy from nosey neighbors and reporters. Draco often walked around the balcony in his underwear in the mornings because the house was so protected from unwanted visitors. Scarlet adjusted very well to the new home and decided to call it "Scarlet Manor" in honor of herself. She had recently celebrated her third birthday, and it seemed like she was growing every day. Scarlet was also adjusting pretty well to Hermione's growing stomach, and would often walk up to Hermione and kiss her swollen belly in imitation of Draco. Hermione and Draco were pretty sure Scarlet did not truly understand that she would soon be a big sister, but they prepared her as best they knew.

Ginny was blossoming as well, pregnancy treating her well. Her bump seemed proportionate for her size, many people not believe she was as far along as she really was. She and Hermione both had only a few short weeks left until their due dates. Ginny experienced some morning sickness a few months into the pregnancy, but overcame that quickly. Despite being extremely ecstatic about the new baby, something was still bothering Ginny. Afraid of getting in another argument with her husband, Ginny decided she would visit Hermione for some much needed advice.

(…)

Hermione heard the doorbell ring and slowly unfolded herself from the covers of her and Draco's large bed. She sleepily wondered who would be coming over today; no one had called or let her know they would be visiting. Hermione heard Draco open the front door and greet someone happily. Ginny's voice echoed through the large house and Hermione felt a flutter of excitement in her stomach- she hadn't talked to Ginny in at least two weeks. Draco had been in the middle of signing a new contract with Puddlemere that had a lot of stipulations and work that they were researching and negotiating with the managers. Draco was set to receive a substantial pay increase and sign on to play for another five years. All the paperwork, research, and bargaining over the number aspects of things had left Hermione and Draco with little time to spend with friends.

Hermione stretched and wrapped a fluffy cotton robe around herself as she walked down the marble staircase to say hello to Ginny.

"Hey Ginny!" Hermione called, waving her hand happily. Ginny turned around to view her friend and laughed.

"Did I interrupt something?" Hermione smiled.

"She's always sleeping. I'm glad you came over and woke her up- I was afraid she'd yell at me if I did it…" Draco smirked. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.

"I just hadn't seen you in ages, so I thought I'd pop over and we could have a girl's day…" Ginny explained as she walked over to hug Hermione.

"That sounds excellent. I feel like Draco and I have been trapped here working on his contract and waiting to hear if all the sponsors will work with us…" Hermione said in a tired voice.

"Are you close to finishing everything, then?" Ginny asked Draco.

"Hopefully, but you never know about these people. They change their mind as often as the weather…" Draco shrugged.

"Are you going to be terribly heartbroken if I go out with Ginny and leave you all by yourself with Scarlet?" Hermione asked with her best attempt at a puppy dog face. Draco laughed at her and pulled her into a big hug.

"Go have fun- I'll take Scuttle-bee out for dinner." Draco said as the little girl pulled herself onto his lap. Draco ruffled her hair and Scarlet grinned.

"Perfect. Here, come upstairs and help me pick out something to wear… you look cute by the way! Where did you find that top?" Hermione led Ginny up the stairs into the master bedroom and to her closet.

"Blaise ordered it from a catalogue actually. Isn't that amazing? He did it all by himself…" Ginny said, her voice in awe. Hermione looked impressed.

"Tell him I'm proud of him. Maybe he'll pass his secret along to Draco…" Hermione teased as she sifted through her large wardrobe. Ginny watched her and sighed.

"I've been working on Blaise for so long now to buy a new house. It's really frustrating- it's like he doesn't even care about my opinion on this." Ginny vented.

"Maybe you should go on your own and start looking at homes and show Blaise pictures of the ones you like. He might begin to understand what you mean if you show him what you want instead of just saying it…" Hermione suggested as she pulled out a lavender sundress. "How's this?"

"Perfect- put it on." Ginny approved. "I think maybe you're right, 'Mione. I'm going to do that and see if Blaise changes his mind."

"Is that what was bothering you?" Hermione asked absently as she pulled off her pajamas. Ginny frowned slightly.

"How did you know something was bothering me?"

"Gin. You're my best friend. I know you better than you know yourself." Hermione smiled at her and turned around so Ginny could zip up the dress in the back.

"I guess you're right. But- no, that's not what's bothering me. Let's go have dinner and you can give me your advice on it all…"

Right then Draco knocked on the door to the room and pushed it open slowly.

"Bye, love, Scarlet and I are going to go have dinner…" Hermione hurried over to him and kissed him.

"Have fun! I'll see you later tonight…" Hermione said as she hugged Scarlet tightly.

"I love you-" Draco responded and closed the door.

(…)

Ginny and Hermione stopped at a local café for dinner, a place Ginny felt was quiet and safe enough to speak with Hermione about everything. Once they were seating and sipping their drinks, Ginny started.

"I haven't spoken to or heard from Harry since your wedding, Hermione. I'm worried sick about him and everything he said." Ginny gushed, her eyes filling up with tears. This was definitely not what Hermione had been expecting.

"Oh, Gin… I'm sure Harry is fine. I mean, we both know how he is- he spoke out of anger. He wouldn't want you to still be worried about everything." Hermione assured her. Ginny shook his head.

"I'm not so sure. Have _you_ heard from him since?" Ginny questioned.

"No… I haven't actually…" Hermione's eyes dropped. "But what are you thinking about doing?"

"I'm not sure. I just have this feeling inside like I really need to talk to him. Back when it all happened Blaise told me to just invite him over to the house so he could keep an eye on him, but I don't want to do that. I hate feeling like I can't trust him…" A tear slid down Ginny's cheek. "I really feel like if I were to just _talk_ to him about everything in private we could work everything out and things would be okay…"

"So are you going to do that?" Hermione asked.

"Blaise would be furious. Even though I've told him a thousand times I don't have feelings for Harry anymore I don't know if he honestly believes it… He would think I was sneaking behind his back for a reason…" Ginny explained.

"It sounds like this is really a problem between you and Blaise…maybe you should work on fixing the problem between you two before you try and work on the problem between you and Harry." Hermione sounded concerned.

"It's more of an unspoken thing. We haven't talked about it since the argument when I told him I was pregnant…"

"I know you want to fix what is going on between you and Harry, but to be quite honest, your relationship with Blaise is just more important, Gin. He's your husband, Harry's a great friend, but you don't have to live with him for the rest of your life." Hermione reached out and took hold of Ginny's hand.

"I know I need to patch things with Blaise, Hermione, but I just can't stop worrying about Harry. I need to find him… will you help me?" Ginny asked. Hermione let out a heavy sigh.

"I want to help you, because Harry is a dear friend of mine as well. Ginny, I don't know if I can support you in this if you're going to go behind Blaise's back to do it. I still feel very strongly that you should talk to him first, and then fix things…" Hermione felt Ginny's hand and body stiffen at her words.

"I thought you would understand, but I guess I was wrong…" Ginny said in a cold voice as she quickly gathered her things up to leave.

"Ginny- wait- no! Don't leave and be mad at me because of this…sit back down and let's talk some more…" Hermione reached out for her, but Ginny shied away.

Right at that moment, the door to the café swung open and Harry Potter himself entered.

(…)

Draco had decided to take Scarlet to a restaurant that was owned by one of his Quidditch teammates in downtown London. It was a classy place that required semi-formalwear to dine, and Draco thought it would be fun to treat his daughter to something she had never experienced before. Everything in her life was pretty casual, but she had begun to take a new liking to dresses and frilly things. Draco dressed her in a puffy pink dress and put a tiara with real diamonds on her head so she could feel like a princess.

Once they entered the restaurant, the dining guests all became silent for a few seconds and then burst into whispers and excited smiles. All the publicity from Draco's Quidditch team and his famous name caused a sort of fan club to form and people began to view him as a celebrity. Draco requested a private table for his daughter and himself, and was quickly escorted to it.

"What do you want to order, Scuttle-bee?" Draco asked, smiling at his daughter. Scarlet put her index finger to her pursed lips and thought silently for a few seconds.

"Cookies!" Scarlet decided happily. Draco laughed and tickled her until she shrieked.

"How about fish and chips?" Draco offered after Scarlet finished giggling.

"Mmmm! Okay!" Scarlet decided.

The waiter walked up a few minutes later and took their orders. Draco and Scarlet conversed happily for a few minutes until a woman interrupted them.

"Draco? Is that really you?" A smooth voice paused their conversation. Draco turned around to be face to face with Pansy Parkinson.

"Yes… what do you want?" Draco was slightly annoyed that his dinner with Scarlet was being interrupted in general, but especially by Pansy. Apparently sensing his tension and annoyance, Pansy flushed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I just haven't seen or spoken to you since… well… you're wedding…" Pansy mumbled, sounding embarrassed.

"There's a good reason why, too." Draco snapped.

"I really miss you Draco, can't we play catch-up for a bit?" Pansy pouted. Draco shook his head firmly.

"I don't have time for this, Pansy. Please don't force me to be mean in front of my daughter." Draco whispered. Pansy glanced quickly over at Scarlet.

"She's very beautiful, Draco. She has your eyes… but Granger's face…" Pansy commented. "Rumor has it Granger's pregnant again, too." Draco glared at her.

"She's not Granger anymore. You would do well to call her Hermione in front of me. And yes, we are expecting another baby in a few weeks." Pansy's eyebrows shot up.

"What happened to you, Draco? Don't you believe in anything you used to anymore?" Pansy's voice was bitter.

"Actually, no. I'm very much a different person. For the love of Christ, why are you still here?" Draco's voice began to rise. Pansy glared at him.

"If your father knew what had become of you…"

"My father was an evil man who deserved to die." Draco said through clenched teeth. Scarlet sat quiet absorbing the conversation.

"Your father was a great man who served the Dark Lord loyally throughout his life. You are shameful to the Malfoy name, Draco!" Pansy cried.

"You need to leave right now, Pansy. Never try and contact me or any of my family again." Draco turned his back to her.

"Fine, I'll leave and you may never see me again…but that doesn't mean you'll forget me…" Pansy whispered so close to the back of Draco's neck he could feel her warm breath on his skin. Goosebumps shot up and down him and he shivered slightly, but said nothing. "See, I still have an effect on you Draco…" Pansy commented with a smirk and walked away. Draco could almost feel the rhythm of her slim hips swaying from side to side as she walked away, but he kept his back to her. He hated himself for letting her get to him and make him remember the way he used to feel about her. She was very good at that. Shoving things out of his mind for later thought, Draco smiled at Scarlet who smiled back.

"Sorry Scuttle-bee…" Draco apologized.

"Who was that lady, Daddy?"

"She was someone Mummy and I used to know when we went to Hogwarts a long time ago. She's not a very nice person, so Mummy and I try to keep her out of our lives… I'm sorry you had to see her, baby." Draco pushed some stray hairs out of Scarlet's face.

"Mummy's prettier than her I think." Scarlet announced. Draco smiled softly.

"I think so too."

(…)

Ginny and Hermione stared as Harry walked through the door and spotted the two of them. He smiled feebly and began to walk over slowly.

"Hey Hermione, Ginny…" Harry acknowledged them. "Both pregnant at the same time? What a coincidence…" His voice sounded tight. Ginny looked lost for words, almost embarrassed, which caused anger to flare up inside Hermione.

"Why don't you sit down and join us, Harry. I think there is some unfinished business that needs to be resolved…" Hermione suggested, and scooted over so there would be room for Harry in the booth. Harry sat down and glanced nervously over at Ginny.

"I'm really sorry for everything that happened at your wedding, 'Mione…" Harry started, looking Hermione in the eyes. "I feel like I ruined everything because I drank too much and said some things I should have kept to myself…"

"You shouldn't have kept them to yourself, Harry…" Ginny interrupted, her eyes glistening again.

"No, I should have because I didn't do anything but make life difficult for everyone else. You're married, Gin, and I should have known not to try anything and respect the new friendship and trust I had with Blaise. I fucked up…"

"Harry, no one is mad at you anymore, okay? Ginny is upset because she feels guilty about making you feel the way you did… even though she has no control over it…" Hermione stepped in.

"I was so scared for you after you left, Harry…" Ginny explained, tears falling freely. "I didn't know what you were going to do because of the things you said. I love you like a best friend, Harry, but I'm afraid we won't be able to be friends if you can't get over what happened sixth year." Ginny said, using a napkin to wipe the tears off her face.

"I know. After the wedding I knew I needed to try and find a way to get over everything, so…. I started dating again…" Harry explained slowly.

"Oh, Harry that's wonderful news!" Hermione exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him as best she could.

"I met a girl a few months ago and we've been dating steadily since… I'm actually supposed to meet her here for dinner tonight…" Harry shrugged sheepishly. "But I feel so much better about everything since I met her… she has made me realize that you aren't the person out there for me, Gin. You found Blaise and that's who you are supposed to be with, and I think I'm supposed to be with this girl…" Harry explained.

"Who is she, Harry?" Hermione asked excitedly. Harry grinned.

"Cho…" Harry couldn't stop grinning.

"I'm really happy for you, Harry…" Ginny whispered, smiling warmly at him. "I feel so much better knowing you are okay now and everything is going to be fine."

"Well, I'm sorry I made you feel the way you did after the wedding, Gin. I never wanted you to be bothered over anything. But, I mean, you were the first girl I ever loved, so you're always going to hold a special place in my life…" Harry blushed and so did Ginny.

"Now we can all be friends again!" Hermione exclaimed happily.

"Well, almost." Ginny sighed. Everyone looked at her in confusion. "Harry, you really need to talk to Blaise. He doesn't trust you at all anymore and frankly, he really wants to kick your ass." Ginny smiled. Harry laughed and nodded.

"I'll send him and owl and see if we can get together soon to sort things out." Harry promised. "But, I should go for now, I just saw Cho walk in…" Harry got up quickly and practically ran over to Cho, who smiled lovingly at him and kissed him passionately.

"See, Gin? He's happy now, and you can be too." Hermione said. Ginny nodded.

"I feel so much better now that I know he's fine…" Ginny exhaled loudly.

(…)

A Few Weeks Later…

Ginny awoke with a start. The pain was so intense she couldn't move or make any noise. It finally subdued slightly and she was able to whisper.

"Blaise…" Ginny's voice was barely audible. Blaise made a sleepy noise and rolled over. "Blaise…" Ginny spoke, a little louder and with more urgency. Blaise sat up sleepily and yawned. His hair was sticking out at crazy angles and his eyes blinked rapidly trying to focus in the dark.

"What's the matter?" Blaise asked softly. He was finally able to adjust to the dark room and saw Ginny clutching her stomach with a look of utter horror and pain on her face. She was slightly damp with a layer of sweat coating her body. "Holy shit, Gin…. Is it time?" Blaise asked, jumping out of bed like someone had just shocked him. Ginny could not speak as another wave of agony washed over her. She groaned and closed her eyes.

"Ohmigod. Ohmigod." Blaise chanted as he ran around the room hurling things into a suitcase. "Baby, here, hold onto me and I'll apparate us to St. Mungo's." Blaise said gently. He pulled his arms around Ginny and held on tightly just as a wail escaped her throat directly into his ear. With a _pop_ they were gone.

Hermione and Draco were awoken that evening by one of their houselves who came careening into their bedroom, waiving a letter in his hand.

"Master! Mr. Zabini's owl just delivered this letter!" the elf jumped on the bed and thrust the letter in Draco's face. Draco's first reaction was to throttle the annoying elf, but he resisted and instead accepted the letter and flipped on his bedside lamp. Hermione made a soft noise and rolled over, with some difficulty.

"What's going on, Draco?" Hermione asked quietly. Draco said nothing for a few moments while he hastily read the letter.

"Ginny's at the hospital, she's in labor and they want us to come." Draco explained.

"What will we do with Scarlet?" Hermione asked. Draco sighed.

"I guess take her with us… I don't know…" Draco answered as he threw the covers off his body and got out of bed. Hermione followed and they changed quickly. Awakening Scarlet proved to be a difficult task; she was cranky and tired and did not want to be bothered.

Once they were at the hospital, they were ushered to one of the highest floors on the hospital to Ginny's private suite. Ginny had already started pushing and was screaming in pain at the top of her lungs. Blaise stood beside her, clutching her hand and looking faint. Mrs. Weasley was crying and didn't seem to know where her daughter needed her most, so she just stood near her. Hermione rushed over to Ginny's side and began mopping the beads of sweat that had formed on her brow.

"Push, Gin! You can do it, I know it hurts, but think of the baby!" Hermione encouraged her. Ginny's anguished cry filled the room again. The doctor ordered Ginny to push really hard one last time, which Ginny did. Soon, a shrill cry could be heard and Ginny started bawling. Blaise kissed Ginny all over her face whispering "I love you" over and over again.

"Congratulations, you are now the proud parents of a baby boy!" The doctor exclaimed, handing the baby to Blaise. Blaise looked at his newborn son and his famous cool demeanor completely crumbled as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He held the baby near Ginny so she could see him and then handed him over to her. Ginny traced the baby's face with her fingers and watched him. Hermione held onto Draco and watched the new parents explore their child.

"Do you have a name?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she peered at her new grandson. Ginny smiled up at her.

"Wesley Isaac Zabini." Ginny breathed. "Little Wes…"

(…)

Exactly four days later, Hermione felt the familiar signs and pains of labor. She was watching a comedy on television with Draco and laughing extremely hard when she felt it.

"Draco!" Hermione gasped. Draco continued to clutch his sides in laughter, but looked at her nonetheless. "Draco we need to go _now!_" Hermione shouted. Draco immediately stopped laughing.

"Are you sure?" he asked stupidly. Hermione gave him a look. "Alright, alright! I'll go get things ready, you owl my mum…" Draco said, jumping up to pack a few pairs of clothes and get Scarlet. Hermione wobbled slowly over to the desk to grab a piece of parchment and a quill, trying to overcome the pains in her abdomen and lower back. She scribbled a brief, but clear, message on the parchment and sent Pilot off to deliver it. Not more than ten minutes passed before Narcissa Malfoy was barging into their home, stringing Tyler along with her.

"Okay, come on, let's get going! You don't want to have the child _here_!" Narcissa shouted orders and everybody hurriedly arrived at St. Mungo's.

When Hermione entered the delivery room, the same doctor who delivered Wes came in the room.

"Weren't you just here?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. Hermione attempted to smile, but she really wanted to punch him in the face and demand some painkillers. The doctor must have read her thoughts because he quickly murmured a charm that relieved Hermione of pain. "Is that better?" he asked gently.

"Yes, much, thank you…" Hermione panted. Draco took hold of her hand and kissed it lightly.

"Here we go…" he smirked at her.

Ginny, Blaise, Wes, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Narcissa, Scarlet, Tyler, Ron, Harry, and the Weasley's were all waiting outside the delivery room to find out when Hermione had the baby and placing bets on the sex of the baby.

After what seemed like hours, Draco came out of the delivery room holding a tiny infant in his arms and beaming like he had just given birth himself. Everyone crowded around him to see the baby in excitement.

"Everyone, I want you to meet…. Ava Aradia Malfoy…" Draco announced. Ginny bounced Wes lightly in her arms.

"Look, Wes! It's your future first kiss!" Ginny laughed. Draco glared at her and held Ava protectively.

"Don't give her any ideas…" he snapped. Narcissa cooed over the new baby and put a hand on her son's shoulder.

"To think, my little boy is the father of two beautiful little girls…" she kissed his cheek. Draco paled slightly.

"I'm already thinking about how I'm going to murder the first boy who wants to date them." Draco admitted.

"Just wait until they get banged for the first time…" Blaise smirked evilly and Ginny gasped at him. Draco gave him a death look.

"Don't fuck with me Zabini." Draco said coolly.

A/N: HEY GUYS! I hope you all like this chapter- it's nice and LOOONG! By the way, this is not the end of the story, but I think the next chapter will be. I kind of want to write about Scarlet, Ava, and Wes' experiences at Hogwarts, but I'm not sure. Let me know what you think…. Also…. Earlier in the story when Scarlet was born, I had Draco cry a single tear and it said that it was the first and last time Hermione would see Draco cry… but I don't want you to think he doesn't love Ava as much as he does Scarlet- its just that Scarlet was his first born and yada ya. :- Okay, well please review and let me know what you think!

**-shesmyfavorite**


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: So sorry for the ridiculously long delay on this last chapter! But now the story is complete!

**Chapter 22: It's Only the Beginning**

Ava pecked Draco's cheek in a quick fly-by as she turned to run aboard the Hogwart's Express. Draco felt his cheek turn cold after his youngest daughter's quick peck and tried to smile encouragingly to her. Before he could wave goodbye she was already aboard the train and giggling happily with her friends, anticipating her fourth trip on the train. Her short, bouncy blonde hair was just as bubbly as she was and was tied up with crimson and gold ribbons. Scarlet meandered slowly over to her parents, her silky, long blonde hair trailing after her. She had a mixture of boredom and elegance on her face. Draco glared at a group of boys who stopped and turned to watch her walk past them. Before Scarlet made it all the way over to Draco, Blaise and Ginny tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey there, old friend. Sorry to see them go so soon?" Blaise smiled, showing some of the lines in his face that were permanently etched there. Ginny had her small arm wrapped through his larger one and smiled up at Draco.

"As always…" Draco simply replied. Blaise's son, Wes, came from seemingly nowhere behind Blaise.

"Has Ava already boarded the train?" he asked, trying to mask his eagerness. His bright young eyes were bright blue like Ginny's but his skin was the olive color of Blaise and his hair was a dark brown. Draco had half a mind to tell the young boy to sod off and leave his baby girl alone, but Hermione placed a loving hand on Draco's shoulder.

"Yes, she's already on. Hurry and get in her compartment before all her silly friends take up all the space… I'm sure she's just bursting to see you…" Hermione answered kindly. Wes grinned boyishly and rushed to board the train. By that time Scarlet had made her way over to her parents and was smirking slightly. Draco smiled proudly as he looked at his first-born. As predicted early in her life, Scarlet had turned out to be excruciatingly beautiful. She was slender and tall with flawlessly fair skin and electric blue eyes. She had the softest, more pure blonde hair in the entire world it seemed, and it shone and flowed down to the middle of her back. Boys absolutely goggled over her and she took no notice at all- until she met a boy named Jason and everything changed. Hermione was the only one to know about Jason, and Scarlet wanted to keep it that way for a while. They were absolutely smitten with one another, and Scarlet wore his ring in a necklace she kept tucked into her shirt. Seeing Jason was only one of the reasons Scarlet was greatly anticipating her final year at Hogwarts. She, so like Hermione, had been named Head Girl.

"Goodbye darling," Hermione hugged her daughter warmly. "Take care of yourself and have loads of fun…"

"You should be more worried about Ava than me, mum…" Scarlet whispered, smirking devilishly. Hermione pulled away from the hug slowly with an amused look on her face.

"Really? Why's that?" Hermione smiled. Luckily, they had grown to be very close and could be perfectly open to each other.

"She's just gotten her first kiss." Scarlet spilled, giggling softly. Draco's head snapped over to Scarlet.

"What? What did you just say?" he demanded. Scarlet rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Would you calm down… Merlin, you'd think he wouldn't expect it by now…" Scarlet snapped, annoyed. Draco narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

"What happened with Ava that I do not know about?" Draco asked more calmly.

"Love, she's had her first kiss!" Hermione cried happily. "Isn't that _wonderful_?!"

"It's anything but." Draco snapped, glaring at Blaise. "What did you teach that boy of yours? To go around kissing innocent girls who are _trying_ to get an education, not contract some sort of weird viral lip fungus." Blaise laughed and to Draco's dismay, nodded his head.

"Yeah, I told him if he hasn't gotten laid by Christmas break to not even bother coming home because he will be disowned." Blaise teased. Draco stiffened. Hermione proceeded to rub Draco's shoulders in an effort to calm him down. It was just then that Draco noticed a tall, handsome boy behind Scarlet that smiled in a way the Draco recognized- love. He eyed the boy suspiciously and watched his daughter fidget nervously and make up an awkward excuse about having to find the Heads compartment and get something organized. Her green and silver scarf floated behind her as she ran to board the train after the suspicious boy.

Draco sighed heavily. This was most definitely stressful. Who knew raising two girls would be such a wonderful and nerve-racking event all bundled up together? Hermione took his hand lovingly and started pulling him away from the train as the final whistle blew shrilly.

"Hermione!" a voice shouted from behind her as a small girl came shooting past her and zoomed onto the train. Hermione turned around and viewed Harry and Cho waving frantically as their eleven-year-old daughter, Cara, practically threw herself on the train.

"Bye honey! Be safe! Have fun!" Cho cried, her eyes tearing up as she continued to wave goodbye. Hermione embraced Harry, who was still to this day one of her best friends.

"What do you say we all go out for cup of coffee?" Ginny suggested. Everyone nodded their agreement.

Just then, the train began to slowly move forward, all the students piling towards the open windows to shout and wave goodbye. Scarlet and Ava could be seen, as well as Wes and Cara. All the parents blew kisses and shouted farewells and goodlucks to them as they slowly began to fade into the horizon. After the train was out of sight and all that could be seen was a thin trail of smoke in the sky, everyone in the platform began to leave. Draco stood rooted to the spot, staring out after the train with his hands in his pockets and a meaningful look on his face. Hermione gently nudged him to bring him back to reality.

"Ready, love?" she asked him, smiling warmly. Draco looked down at her, a sad expression in his eyes.

"This is it, Hermione. We won't see them again for months. Scarlet will graduate, move away from us, and Ava will be gone all the time as well. This whole chapter of our lives has come to an end right now, and there's nothing we can do about it." Draco spoke. Hermione studied him for a moment without speaking.

"I suppose that's one way to look at it, yes. But in a way, dear, this is only the beginning for a new chapter is about to unfold." Hermione replied. Draco pulled her close and took in a deep breath.

"We still have a lot to look forward to, you're right. I'm just going to miss them terribly. I always hate this part of the year when they go away…" Draco explained.

"As do I. But, I do enjoy having you all to myself…" Hermione ran her hand down his abdomen seductively. Draco groaned and closed his eyes.

"What do you say we bail on the coffee and go home to uh…start the new chapter?" Draco smirked. Hermione had a devilish gleam in her eye.

"After all these years, I still intrigue you that much?" Hermione bit her lower lip.

"You intrigue me more everyday…" Draco growled huskily in her ear.

"You're not going to trade me in for a newer, faster model?" Hermione teased, grabbing his hand and beginning to walk out of the platform.

"Nah, all these new models are pretty unreliable. You never know with them. With an _older_ model though, you always know what to expect." Draco laughed as Hermione punched his bicep.

"_Older_?!" She shrieked. "I'll show _you_ older, Draco Malfoy…"

A/N: Okay guys, I was not sure at all how to end this story. I'm totally sorry- this ending completely sucked. It took me forever to update and then it was totally lame. Please don't hate me! BUT on a good note- I'm starting a new Draco/Hermione story that is set during their 7th year at Hogwarts, but it will definitely be a shade darker than my other fics. I encourage you to check it out- I have the story totally planned out and it should be rockin. I haven't posted the first chapter yet, but keep a lookout for it! Thanks for all your WONDERFUL support throughout this story- I love you all so much for your encouragement and support and I'm proud to have finished a story! Yay! I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you, so give yourself a nice pat on the back!


End file.
